The Improbable
by Of.Winged.Poets
Summary: They're free. She's saved, or is she? Because there are always sacrifices. They can be together, fight together, hold on tight, but it won't save anyone. Hearts make good sacrificial offerings. And the battle will make them bleed. Fax
1. Prologue

_Sequel! Sorry it took SO long._

_Summary: Sequel to The Impossible. Max and the Flock set out to save the world. Fax. The Flock heads out to save the world and meets a ton of trials along the way. Max and Fang are tested, the strength of the Flock is tested. They have to fight a war. Not all of their army will survive. They might not even win._

_I don't own MR._

* * *

_Prologue_

MPOV

I'm about to die, to say goodbye to everything and once again become part of that dark sanctuary that still hovers on the outskirts of my dreams. I've been there before, and it waits for me now.

Those familiar dark eyes are filled with hate. It gets to me in a special vulnerable place. I never expected this. All of my paranoia and pessimism still didn't prepare me for this outcome.

Swords clang around me. That must be their way of mocking me. Didn't I once say that if I was in charge, wars would be fought with swords? Ha ha, it's so funny. Note the sarcasm. We stand almost no chance of winning. Not without them.

Anyway, this is my destruction. Really this time. How can I get out of this one? I've been lucky one too many times. There's no one left to save me, no one left to shoulder my blame. I'm facing a judgment that frightens me. It's ironic. My unbeatable opponent is the one I can't fight. Fang. Actually, Fang's clone.

The distinction doesn't matter. I can't kill either one of them. It may not be Fang, but he looks the same. He has Fang's arrogant smirk. He has the jet black wings. He moves in the exact same way, the way I know so well. And I love him. I'll never be the one to make the light fade from those deep, dark eyes. I can't do it. It would kill me. It will kill me. So, like I said: irony.

And while I'm moving steadily closer to my death, they're fighting. There's a cloud of blood and death and violence topped by a cause and a hate.

People fight, people die-for me, for the world. I did my part. I always knew this would be the price. Sometimes in war there are sacrifices. I just didn't expect it to hurt so much. I know, I'm always dying. It's a curse. Don't worry; this will be the last time. No one will have to save me anymore. No one will have to hear my pathetic last words, my depressing goodbyes. I'm as good as gone.

My thoughts don't go to all of the people I've lost, to those I've left behind. I don't allow them to. Dying for the second time isn't as scary. It's not as painful on an emotional level. I've loved, I've lived, I've fought, we've won. There's nothing to grieve. So the part of me that's weeping is the selfish part, the part that won't give in. That's the same part that saved me last time, that part and Fang…and Jeb.

They're all fighting a different cause right now. It's my cause, but it's not the cause for my life. Thoughts are getting blurred in the haze of battle. I don't know who's going to make it, who I'll meet up with on the other side, whose lives I've cost. Now he's swinging the killing blow. At least his face will be the last thing I see, even if it's not him. Even if his eyes hold hate and rage and destruction, burning like a fire in his irises.

It seems a shame to die now. I won't see the end of the fight. I won't get to grieve or cheer, but they can do that without me. It doesn't hurt, but it does. It's not the end, but it is. I can't cry, but I can. I won't close my eyes, but I will. I don't die, but I do.

* * *

_Really short, but it's just the prologue. This prologue is, again, in the future. The next chapter backtracks. I have that written already. _

_I realize that this is a lot like the first one with the whole death thing, but it will be different. Please review._


	2. A Bad Omen

_Here you go babies, an update practically in the same day! I couldn't wait just because when I opened my inbox, I had 27 messages all from FanFiction. Thank you guys so much. I can tell this is going to be even better than the last one. I promise it won't be the same exact thing as he first one. It has its own twists._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

* * *

_Chapter 1_

_A Bad Omen_

* * *

CHAPTERS 1-5 OF THIS STORY HAVE A REALLY DIFFERENT TONE THAN THE REST OF THE STORY. I'VE TRIED TO CHANGE THEM TO BE SLIGHTLY MORE ANGSTY LIKE THE REST OF THE STORY. BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH I CAN DO AT THIS POINT. JUST DON'T GIVE UP ON ME, PLEASE.

* * *

MPOV

Fields. Fields. Fields are the only things I've seen for hours. And it's well known that corn fields are the setting of choice for horror movies. My body tingles with a kind of third sense, an eerie, pulling foreboding in my gut. It's not a good sign. I sigh darkly and give my head a little shake. I'm losing my mind. Or maybe I've already lost it. Either way, things have been so quiet lately. I don't trust this period of safety. I've learned from hard earned experience. I see Fang smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"What's so funny?" I snap irritatedly. He wisely says nothing.

Things started out okay. It's bliss to feel the open sky under my wings after everything we've been through lately. But I have no direction, no purpose. I'm lost. Saving the world doesn't come with an instruction manual, and the Voice has been mysteriously MIA. So we've ended up flying aimlessly. Sometimes being Maximum Ride is difficult. Sometimes I think that someone else would be better suited for the job.

Without warning, I shift into a steep dive. I pump my wings for speed, needing the adrenaline to wake up my system.

"Max!" Fang calls. I send him a quick glance over my shoulder to let him know I'm okay. I let my wings skim the tips of whatever crop is in _this_ field as I turn sharply to fly back up. My blood is pumping faster. It doesn't alleviate the worry, but I feel less lethargic. I smile at Fang as I catch up to the Flock again.

"Better than coffee," I say. He rolls his eyes. Fang and I have been doing okay. This new relationship is strange but I'm slowly getting better at it. After everything that happened, it gave us a new type of bond. But I don't particularly want to revisit those dark times.

"Max?" I brace myself.

"Yes, Nudge?"

"I'm hungry." I sigh. I hear Iggy chuckle and fly closer to Nudge. He says something to distract her, and she laughs. The Flock is so happy. I feel like I'm the only one worrying. But I _know _that this can't last forever. More fields pass below. Fang's being his usual silent self, and I'm practically falling asleep out of boredom.

"Going down," I say as I spot a fast food place. The Flock lets out whoops of joy. I roll my eyes. It hasn't been _that_ long. Fang smirks. Again.

We order enough food to feed a small country with my newly re-found Maximum Ride Card. Then we all sit down to devour lunch. I fidget restlessly, feeling vulnerable. Good things don't happen at restaurants for us. It's a fact of life. I wish I was able to enjoy these little things in the same way as everyone else. It's just another thing that sets me apart. Fang puts his hand on top of mine and looks at me with steady eyes. I feel the knot of worry in my stomach ease, allowing me to eat my lunch in relative calm.

* * *

FPOV

Max is restless. I can tell she's getting that feeling of forewarning. I trust her instincts, and I feel it too. But the kids deserve a break. They all can tell when Max is worrying. I think that Iggy might even be a little worried for her sanity, after everything that's happened.

What happened. I shudder to think of it. I almost lost her. If it wasn't for Jeb, I would have. We have no idea where he is now, or if he's even on our side.

But I guess it doesn't matter. We'll just keep moving forward like always. Although we don't have Max's Voice to guide us. At least we have Max. What would we have done without her?

* * *

MPOV

"Hey guys, I'm going to get a refill," I say, needing to walk. My anxiety has returned now that I'm finished eating. Fang rises silently behind me. He's a comforting force that surrounds me.

"It's okay, Max," he says. He stands very close behind me while I fill my cup. Fang nuzzles my neck. "Breathe." Did I ever honestly think I could survive without him? Maybe not. Maybe I always knew I'd end up alone and dying. But that's in the past now.

"I'm trying," I say. I turn around in his arms. I know he can see the extent of my restlessness in my eyes. "Let's just get out of here." He nods.

My skin is crawling with a bad feeling. That's never good. I do a quick 360, but the coast is clear. The people around us don't seem like they hide any evil intent. But I can't shake the bad feeling.

"Time to go, guys." They all grumble but do as they're told. I run a hand through my hair in agitation.

"It's not that bad, Max," Fang reassures me. "We're safe."

"Something feels wrong," I insist. I hate when they act like I'm crazy. Just because a person has/had one little voice in her head…

"I believe you, but you're freaking the kids out." I force a reassuring smile and lead them outside. This building is plopped down in the middle of fields next to a little forest and a road. The trees seem to whisper sinisterly. The fields could hide any number of evil things. The only safety is the sky.

We find a secluded place and take off. When I'm a good distance off the ground and the landscape below is starting to lose its distinction, a sharp pain flairs through my wing. I gasp out in shock and start to spiral downward. I try to move my wing, but it's paralyzed. Why does this always happen to me?

"_Fang!"_ I think, but no words come out. The wind would only have stolen them away anyway. Maybe I've shaken death off my trail one too many times. I mean, think of how many near death encounters I've had. Or maybe being the intended savior of the world put a big fat target on your back for fate to follow.

* * *

FPOV

I watch in dismay as Max begins to fall from the sky…again. I start to dive for her, but there's something in my way. Flyboys. I shout out orders, my thoughts barely coherent. I have to get to Max. The Flock kicks into action. We're outnumbered…and they have some type of weird gun. One of them shoots Nudge. She starts to fall as well.

"Iggy!" He turns towards me. "It's Nudge!" His eyes widen in horror. "Gazzy, help Iggy!" They swoop towards Nudge. I continue to fight my way downward, but there's always another enemy in my way. Iggy and Gazzy aren't having any luck either. I can see their frustration growing. Now Gazzy's falling.

"Angel, get out of here." There are Flyboys all around her. Iggy chucks something her way, blasting a hole in the wall of Flyboys around her. She flutters motionless for a second. An innocent but evilly capable child in the midst of the chaos. It's almost eerie looking.

"Go!" I yell. I've almost broken out of the Flyboy cloud. All I can think about is Max. She's down there. I have to get to her. Am I already too late?

I don't see what happens to Angel after that. I catch a sideways glimpse of Iggy diving low to catch Nudge's limp form. She's almost too heavy for him, and he's forced to land. Then everything gets lost in the chaos.

* * *

MPOV

There's a fight above. My consciousness is fleeting, so I only catch snatches. At one point I see Nudge fall. There's an explosion. I think I see Angel fly off. I can't tell anymore. Fang. Where's Fang? Is he okay? The ground. I'm going to hit it. He won't catch me on time. Too bad we weren't flying lower; maybe the impact wouldn't be as bad that way. Right now, we're pretty much looking at a Max pancake. That lovely image almost has me gagging.

The nonsensical sounds of battle above are the only soundtrack to my fall. I hear someone shout my name again. I must be getting close to the end then. I brace myself, knowing it won't be enough. Things were just starting to be good again too. I should have known. It's always at the heavenly part that things go to hell.

* * *

_Don't you just love me? I have no idea where this story's going, but I wanted to start the sequel before you completely forgot about me. Review?_


	3. Things That Are Necessary

_I'm trying to stay on top of updating this time around, but I really need you guys to review. This story has a lot more hits/visitors than reviews…Still, it's only the first chapter, so I forgive you. ; )_

_I don't own MR._

_Chapter 2_

_Things That Are Necessary (And Things That Aren't)_

* * *

MPOV

I brace myself for the searing agony that I know will enter every bone in my body when I meet with the ground. But the impact isn't nearly as painful as it should be. Oh wait; I didn't even hit the ground. The haze of unconsciousness caused by whatever they shot me with is lifting. I blearily open my eyes. The world is sort of fuzzy and shifty like it's made of grains of painted sand. Who's carrying me? Omega?

"You just won't die," I say, trying for a little bravado. His face stays expressionless. My pride smarts a bit. One of my worst enemies just saved my life. Someone always has to save my life. I'm getting a little tired of this whole damsel in distress role. "What's up?" I try for cheerful, not sure what to expect. My eyes are still wary.

"I must go help your Flock," he says. I splutter as he sets me on the ground at the edge of a field near a copse of trees. That's another blow to my ego. I'm supposed to do that. I'm supposed to save everyone, but it appears that I'm not very good at it.

"What? So you're on our side now?" I ask incredulously. He just turns away and jumps into the sky. I watch as his outline becomes obscured by distance and shadow.

Fang told me that Omega had acquired wings and a personality. I'm not seeing much of the personality, but the wings…I try to follow him into the fight, not trusting him in the least.

I find that, while I can stand, I can't fly. The last of the paralysis has left my body and my mind but not my wings. I stomp in a childish show of temper. It doesn't make me feel better. I'm so friggin' useless. In case you haven't noticed, I rather hate being helpless. And I hate being on the ground. Walking is so slow.

I pace for a while, searching the sky for some sign of hope. I can't see anything from the ground. I kick a nearby root. I'm not the most patient person in the world, obviously. I stalk off to search for Iggy and Nudge. I'm pretty sure they landed nearby. I let the forest swallow me in its shadowy coolness, the sounds of battle fading as I get tucked into the comforting vacuum that is found beneath the dark emerald canopy of leaves.

FPOV

My heart stops beating for a good three seconds. _Max_. My very being breaths worry for her. She's too far away for me to catch her. My heart pumps with pain. I've let her down again. It's my job to protect her. A small figure flies onto the scene.

"Max!" I call her name as a warning. Her body remains limp. The last Flyboy in my path crumples from the sky. I shoot toward Max, ready to destroy the person zooming toward her from the other direction, knowing I won't get there in time.

The figure flies beneath Max. _It caught her._ What's going on here? Is that Iggy? Definitely not.

The figure and Max land. I hover in midair warily. The battle rages above. I don't know what happened to the others, but I know that staying still will just get me shot. I wait indecisively. The figure doesn't seem harmful, but I can't just leave Max.

It sets Max on the ground. I see her stand up tensely. The figure takes to the sky. Omega. Why isn't Max following him?

I start to descend. A tiny and clearly bad tempered Max is stomping around below. What is she doing? I pass Omega on a dive.

"Leave her," he says. I stop mid-dive. Let me tell you, that's not an easy thing to do.

"What?!" Does he honestly believe I'm going to abandon her? She could be hurt.

"She's fine. The battle is more important. You must defeat these enemies, or she will not be safe anyway."

"Why are you here?" He doesn't answer, of course. He just keeps on ascending. I reluctantly reverse direction because he's right, as much as I hate to admit it. It isn't necessary to coddle Max, but it is important to eliminate the threat to her. Anyway, Max is heading off toward where Iggy landed.

Omega and I return to the fight and kick some Flyboy ass. I don't understand why he's helping us, but I'm not going to turn down help, not when there are so many Flyboys and so few of us.

His vision problem doesn't seem to be fixed, so it's a good thing he's so tough. He's taking more hits than the Flyboys. I wonder how he was able to catch Max, if he couldn't even track her properly. I need to stop worrying about Omega and focus. I let my worry and anger take me over. Pretty soon, there aren't any Flyboys left.

I raise an eyebrow. Omega is smiling. It looks strange on his face. I've never seen him smile before. Without a word, we go down to the place where I saw Iggy and Nudge disappear into the small grove of trees.

"Good job." Angel appears next to me, startling me into going a little off course. She giggles.

"Where were you?"

"I flew up really high." She smiles. "Like really _really_ high. The air was really thin, but I could still breathe." Great, another new power. Apparently, lungs just aren't necessary for Angel.

MPOV

I stumble upon Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy hidden in a circle of trees. Iggy is sitting against a tree with his arm around Nudge. Gazzy's looking very upset. I send a questioning look at Nudge.

"Gazzy fell too. Iggy flew back up in time to catch him." Oh, so Gazzy's upset about having to be saved.

"It's okay, bud. I fell too." I sit next to him and stroke his hair. It sticks out in all directions. He looks so small and cute.

"Really? Did Fang catch you?" He looks at me with little boy curiosity, tears shimmer around the edges of his eyes.

"Not exactly…" They wait for me to elaborate. I let out a tired sigh. "It was Omega." talking explodes around me.

"I thought he was dead."

"So did I." Nothing is ever as it seems in my world. I should just stop assuming that I know anything at all.

"Maybe he's got like a bunch of lives. Maybe he's a cat-hybrid. Oooh, maybe he's a clone. Maybe Fang didn't actually kill him at all. Why is he on our side though? I thought he hated us." Iggy slaps a handover Nudge's mouth and then removes it with a yelp.

"She bit me!" he says, outraged. I can't stop a laugh from escaping. Pretty soon we're all giggling. It feels good to laugh. I have a feeling we won't be in the future. Our little calm spell just came to an end. I feel terribly selfish because I'm a little bit happy about it. They'll need me again, need me to keep them safe, to watch their backs at night.

FPOV

We crash through the canopy of leaves. I see Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Max jump into defensive positions. Max pushes Gazzy slightly behind her, always the strong one. I'm supposed to protect her, but I didn't. She could have died.

"Whoa, calm down," I say, holding my hands up in surrender. Relief is evident on Max's face. I visual sweep her for injuries. I don't see any. I let out a sigh of relief. If she had been hurt…I need her. Max is my world. She runs over to me. I pull her close.

"Are you okay?"she asks. She runs her hands over my chest and face, clearly searching for wounds.

"I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?" She nods. I kiss her because I have to. She grasps my shoulders in a death grip. I understand completely. I don't ever want to let her go. I pull her as near as I can, wanting to be as close as possible. I could easily have lost her today. A shudder runs through me.

"You scared me," I admit, resting my forehead against hers. Her soft hair tickles my face. I brush a strand of hair out of her face and then cup her face with my hand. She leans into my palm. Her beautiful eyes close and then open tiredly.

"I was worried there for a second too," she confesses quietly. "Lucky Omega caught me," she says a bit louder, turning to face the Flock. The moment is broken. It's back to business, but I keep my arm around her, unwilling to let her go. She stays close, needing the connection every bit as much as I do. I still feel shaken. Without Max…well there's nothing without her.

While we were…talking, Angel was reuniting with the Flock. She stands next to her brother. Omega stands apart.

"Time to explain." Max turns to him. His face is as impassive as ever, his posture is tense. "Let's start with an easy question. Why are you here?"

* * *

_There you have it. Max was saved yet again. I don't really like this chapter, but whatever. Please review._


	4. Ominous Oddities

_Hey, guys. Sorry it took so long…again. This chapter just feels very annoying to me. I know I need to explain about Omega, but I really want to get into the good part. _

_I don't own MR._

* * *

_Chapter 3_

_Ominous Oddities_

* * *

MPOV

My gaze easily catches and holds Omega's. I can see no shadow of deception in his eyes. He only looks tired. I cross my arms and tap my foot impatiently. Fang keeps his arm reassuringly around my shoulders. It's a weight that I've grown use to, a show of loyalty and comfort.

"I am here for the same reason you are," he begins. His speech is still robotic and stiff. His inflections are odd. "I am here because the termination list has been expanded to include me." I narrow my eyes untrustingly.

"What exactly is the termination list?"

"It is exactly what it sounds like," he snaps. Whoa, maybe he's not as emotionless as I thought. He continues to explain as if to a small, especially stupid child. "It is a list of experiments that are to be terminated. Your Flock was placed on it before the capture of Subject Eleven."

"Angel," I hiss.

"Angel," he agrees and then continues. "After _Angel_ was captured, they removed her from the list. You were never on the list. The others remained slated for destruction. However, there was a proviso allowing for their capture instead of instant assassination, and they were not marked as urgent. At that point, you were to be captured and studied. Angel was an uncertainty, but she was also marked for examination." He speaks all of this in a flat tone, leaving out any emotion.

"Continue," I say, after a long pause.

"The Flock you released in New York also had to be added to the list. They have not been terminated yet. The dog was also added to the list." It's good to know that the other bird kids are doing okay. Total is happily residing with Angel and Gazzy's parents for the time being, so I can assume he's safe. Apparently, Jeb had him locked away somewhere else while we were in the Cage. Angel got him back when she left.

"Next…"

"Then Max II was created. Your termination became linked with hers. When you failed to kill her, she was locked away until her destiny could be determined. The Erasers were also put on the termination list around this point, if I recall correctly. That was when Ari was put on the list." My heart contracts a little, remembering Ari's death. Fang squeezes my shoulder in support.

"Keep going, Omega," he says.

"After you were captured and taken to the school, they decided to make one last attempt to reprogram you. You remember that they told you everything was a lie. Obviously, that didn't work and Angel helped you escape with Ari. That got her name back on the list, and they added you. You all were given a high priority capture status."

"I'm so honored," I sneer, covering up the emotion that all of these memories bring back.

"Then they captured you. The Director formulated her plans, and I was part of them. They also decided to give the clones one last chance. However, Max II is too intelligent to do their bidding while they planned her death. I believe she helped you?" I nod, remembering the note she had given me about Fang heading our way.

"Their plan began to fall apart. After the dust settled, you and your Flock were still on the list. Max II was locked away, but the other Flock eluded their grasp. Things were falling apart for them."

"And it's stayed that way ever since," I finished for him. "Get to the part we don't know."

"After I failed to defeat Fang, they examined my flaws. They discovered the…changes that had occurred in my personality. I was put on the list."

"How did you escape?"

"Max II. We escaped. I don't know where she is, but she is on our side."

"Why are you helping us?"

"I told you. I've changed. I feel different then I used to. The world appears different to me. I wish to fight at your side." My mind automatically recalls the last time I let someone along for the ride, Ari. I can't make that mistake again. It's another bad memory (I seem to have a lot of those), waiting to pull me into its depressing spiral.

"We'll talk it over," I say.

"You should know, Maximum Ride. There are others who will fight with you. You only have to ask. The other side is gathering an army. They wish to end this once and for all."

"This is my fight."

"You cannot defeat them alone."

"She's not alone," Fang interjects. Omega shakes his head sadly. I can tell he has things to say, but he doesn't wish to say them in front of the Flock.

"It is your destiny to save the world Maximum Ride but I will help you as much as I can, as much as any of us can."

"We'll talk it over." He inclines his head. I pull Fang away and motion for the Flock to join us.

"What do you think?" I ask.

"He seems sincere," Angel says.

"I don't think we need another person. Then again, he's a good fighter. He almost beat Max. Although, he said he's 'flawed' now. That's probably just the warped scientists' opinion though." I give Nudge a look. She shuts up.

"I don't think his place is with us," Iggy says. Gazzy nods his agreement.

"He's sort of…weird," Gazzy adds.

"We're all weird, Gazz," Iggy laughs. I look at Fang.

"We don't need another Ari," he says. My heart picks up. I can feel the little breaks in my heart prickling in preparation to rip apart again. When we kept Ari, he left. Fang leans down to speak low in my ear. "I don't mean that. I made a promise. Remember?" My fear eases. "I just mean, we're fine the way we are."

"I knew what you meant," I say. "I was just being stupid." We come out of our little world to find the Flock staring. "Ummm…so it's a no then," I say. I see Iggy smirking. I want to glare at him, but it's useless.

"Omega?" I call. He looks at me steadily. "I think that you can do more to help elsewhere. I'm not saying that we don't want your help on our side, but the Flock is…needs to be…just us,"  
I finish lamely.

"I understand." I can read his disappointment, but he tries not to show it. "I will work on finding those who wish to join us. There will be a battle soon enough, Maximum Ride. I will make sure we are ready." I feel strangely reassured. "We'll meet again when the time is right," he says, and then he turns and walks away.

"That was…ominous," I say.

"I'd say it was more…odd," Iggy says.

"That too."

"Do you really think this will end in a fight?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. They're overdramatic like that," Fang says.

"So true," I smile even though I know we're in for a long battle. We've just been set on a path that looks long and twisting. I have this terrible suspicion that we won't be the same when we come out on the other side. I feel my heart bear tick up as I think about that. I can't bear to lose them. I won't let some stupid destiny take them from me, and I won't let it turn us into something else, something twisted and destroyed by too many hard times and agonies.

* * *

_That's not the last of Omega. He'll be in the next chapter probably. He has more to say to Max. I know there was a lot of recap in there, but I wanted to give the story a base of reference, and explain the past from the other side's point of view. Don't forget to review!_


	5. Where is Home?

_I was really disappointed with the response to last chapter (or lack thereof). I think that when I take the time to type up a chapter, I deserve reviews. They inspire me and let me know that I'm not wasting my time. _

_I don't own MR._

* * *

_Chapter 4_

_Where is Home?_

* * *

MPOV

We decide to call it a night. No one can take any more excitement today. Our spirits are flickering with weariness.

Gazzy lights a small, discrete fire while Iggy plays doctor. The fire cackles behind him, giving him a slightly glowing outline. Angel and Gazzy are asleep within the circle of golden light cast by the flames. Nudge is sitting in front of Iggy while he tenderly bandages a smallish cut on her arm. They look so normal and couple-y. I feel a little alone because Fang is on lookout duty.

I raise my head and search for him in the low tree branches of a dead tree. I can barely make out a dark figure, higher than I had originally thought. The deep blue of the night sky seems to meld with his outline so that Fang appears only a smudge in the sky. I shiver and wrap my arms around myself, moving closer to the fire. It lets out a circle of warmth that I feel oddly foreign to. It's as if this little piece of warmth doesn't welcome me.

"No one's mortally wounded," Iggy announces, standing up in front of me. Nudge wiggles into her sleeping bag next to Angel. Sleeping bags are one of the small luxuries we managed to acquire from the assorted blood parents before we left.

"No really, Sherlock?" I reply sarcastically, trying to cover up my depressed thoughts and exhaustion. He scowls impressively.

"No one's mortally wounded, _but _whatever they shot into you, Nudge, and Gazzy to paralyze you hasn't completely stopped working on your wings." I already knew this, of course.

"So what you're saying is…"

"I don't know when you'll be able to fly again." I nod wearily.

"Thanks, Ig." I rest my hand on his shoulder for a second before walking past him, around from the fire and into the trees.

When I'm far enough away from the camp that I'm sure I can't be seen, I rest against a huge tree trunk and sigh. I rub my hands over my face in a rare show of weakness. If we can't fly…I can't think about it. I'd never admit it to Iggy, but the thought frightens me. Without the use of my wings, how am I supposed to save the world? I wouldn't be Maximum Ride anymore. I'd just be…average.

A noise to my left startles me out of my reverie. I glance up toward Fang's position, but I can't really see him. My body tenses in waiting. I can just make out a shape in the darkness. What was I thinking coming out here alone? This is the worst place for a fight. The dead leaves and sticks on the forest floor make it difficult to move without giving away my position. The heavy branches and thick canopy of leaves make flying away unpleasant and noisy at best, and I can't use my wings anyway. The numerous hiding places are as easily used by an opponent as by me.

I take in a deep breath to steady myself. The shape is almost clearly visible. It steps out from behind a tree. Omega. I don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet.

"What do you want? I thought you were leaving."

"I am, but I have things to say to you first."

"Go on."

"First, I wish to thank you for believing my loyalty." My eyes widen with shock. I wasn't expecting that. "Secondly, I must tell you about Home."

"Home? Do you mean the School? Because I think I've heard more than enough-"

"No. Home is…a safe house of sorts. It is really just a concept, as of now. We, Max II and I, discovered it together."

"I thought you said you don't know where she is."

"I do not. I am not sure whether she stayed at Home or not."

"What is Home?"

"As I said, it is a safe house. It is a place for…mutants, like ourselves to be safe."

"Where is it?" He smiles slowly.

"Haven't you heard, Maximum Ride? Home is where the Heart is." He starts to laugh a little, the strange smile still on his face. I'm beginning to think he's a little on the crazy side.

"And you expect me to believe this place is safe, when you won't even tell me where it is?"

"I cannot. If you are captured, it would be compromised."

"But what about if you are captured? Or Max II?"

"We are not their main targets." He starts to walk back into the dark forest.

"Wait! Omega, why would you tell me about this place, if I can't get there?"

"You will find it when the time is right," he says, and then he's gone.

"You're starting to sound just like the Voice," I mutter to myself. I turn to go back to camp and find Omega in my way.

"It's like a bad movie effect," I say.

"I forgot to tell you something."

"Go ahead," I sigh, wondering what else he could possibly have to say. This night is getting stranger and stranger.

"The paralysis should wear off by morning."

"How do you know?"

"I was there when they developed it. They considered it a major flaw that it was so weak."

"Okay…thanks. Is that it?"

"Yes. I will see you again, Maximum."

"You said that before," I murmur, but he's already gone.

* * *

_That chapter was actually pretty fun to write, even though this is still the boring part. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. I accept anonymous reviews, so you don't even have to sign in. Just remember that I can't reply to anonymous reviews. All I'm asking for is just a few seconds of your time. This took hours of mine._


	6. Vicious Trees and Paranoia

_Hello, everyone. I'm so sorry for the wait. I had writer's block. Anyway, I'm writing now. _

_However, I did post two new stories, All Fall Down and Knowing the Horizon. All Fall Down has Iggy's POV which is different. It also has Max. It's still in-progress. Knowing the Horizon is a one-shot that freakin' rocks, if I do say so myself. I really like it._

_Also, I forgot to tell you that I made a community. It's dedicated to our favorite Fax fights, break-ups, and just general angst. If you want in, PM me. Otherwise, just check it out. _

_I do not own MR._

* * *

_Chapter 5_

_Vicious Trees and Paranoia_

* * *

MPOV

After Omega disappears, I run a hand through my hair in annoyance. Why is my life never simple? There's always some new and decidedly obnoxious twist or catch or random piece of information. At least my wings will work by morning. I can't imagine my life without flight. It's not just a weapon; it's part of who I am. I wouldn't be me without my wings. I'm not sure I could keep my sanity, although I certainly know more of that dark place than most.

I pace over to Fang's lookout tree. Even with my excellent vision, I can't see him. He blends into the empty sky above.

I climb my way up the tree. This is not as easy a task as I'd originally thought. Branches snap and wobble under my weight. It's not like I've climbed many trees before. No use for climbing when you have working wings. The little stinging cuts that I receive as I climb feel almost like nothing. We've all been through so much worse. Eventually, I make it to Fang's perch. He does a double take when he sees me.

"Have you been fighting with a rabid cat?" he asks, referencing my myriad of small scratches. I glare and settle on the branch beside him.

"No," I grumble. He grabs my hand and pulls it to him, examining my cuts. A little tremor runs through me at his touch. Fang's the only thing that seems to make everything a little better. He raises his eyes to give me a questioning look.

"I had to climb the tree." His look turns incredulous.

"You're telling me that a _tree_ did this to you?" I can tell he's trying not to laugh.

"If you laugh, I swear I will knock you off this branch." He doesn't look impressed. Of course not, his wings work. So I feel the need to add, "unconscious." He winces. I bet he can already feel the bump that fall would leave.

"I'm sorry." His smirk is slowly returning.

"No you're not," I mutter, rubbing a bruise on my shin.

"I am," he promises. "Trees can be very dangerous. I mean, think about those violent roots." My eyes narrow. "…and leaves," he continues. I shove him, but not hard enough to make him fall. He makes a contrite face. "I really am sorry. Trees can be very vicious to the unarmed bird-kid."

"This one is." I look suspiciously at the tree branch beneath us, running my fingers over it warily.

"You're not serious," he laughs. I feel my heart give the tiniest stutter at the sound.

"I am!" I insist, but I'm laughing now too. I let him pull me closer. He leaves his arm over my shoulders. For a moment, I allow myself to lean on him. Our previous levity has evaporated. He rubs a soothing hind over my back, between my wings.

"What is it?" I can see the concern in his eyes.

"Nothing. I'm just tired." I fake a smile. I know he can tell. I know he's worried. HE's always watching me with concern now. It's like he doesn't fully trust me not to just disappear. "Omega came back." He raises an eyebrow.

"Really? I thought he was leaving."

"He left, but he told me some things first." Fang waits for me to continue. "He said the paralysis will wear off by morning."

"That's good," he says cautiously, obviously waiting for the bad news.

"It is," I confirm.

"But…"

"No 'but'." He gives me a look. "Really! Honestly, you're as paranoid as I am."

"Had to happen eventually," he shrugs. "No one can live with you and not have it rub off on them." I roll my eyes and mutter something about him becoming Mr. Chatty. He hears it and laughs.

"What else did Omega say?" I explain about Home. I can tell he likes the idea, can see him picturing it. That's the difference between us. I can't picture it. I can't see anything but the goal. The deserted island, the happy mutant family Home: they don't exist in my imagination. All of my plans are wrapped up in saving the world. That's what happens when you're me. It's why Fang can take the time to write his blog, to think of an island vacation, but I can't.

No matter how paranoid Fang gets, he'll be able to shake it off. When it's all over, he'll move on. I won't. I'll always be looking for the catch, waiting for it to come tumbling down. That's what makes me Maximum Ride. That's why I'm the leader. That's why I have to be the one to save the world. That's why I'm starting to think that's all I'll ever be.

Fang's eyes are on me. I know he's wondering what I'm thinking. I don't meet his gaze, don't want him to know. I want him to be happy. If he glimpsed my dreary thoughts, he wouldn't be.

"I'm fine," I say, wiping the gloomy musings from my mind to meet his gaze. "I just can't wait until my wings work again. This paralysis is a major weakness."

"At least it's not long lasting."

"That's what Omega said." Which reminds me… "I think Omega's losing it."

"What do you mean?" I tell him about Omega's strange side trip towards Cookyville.

"Maybe this whole thing's too much for him," I finish.

"I dunno, but it's not our problem right now." That's another difference. Fang can just write things off. Things don't keep him awake at night, wondering.

"I guess…" I try to put it aside like Fang.

"It's going to keep bothering you, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"Alright…" He sighs. "Let's think about this…" I smile. Fang always knows what I need. If I ever lost him again, I'm afraid it'd break me. There's only so much a bird-kid can be expected to take.

* * *

_*coughForeshadowingcough*_

_Sucky ending, but whatever. This would've been better if I'd done it in Fang's POV. Too late now. Maybe I'll do Fang's POV next chapter. Oh, can anyone tell me the name of the other Flock leader? From the Institute in NYC? I don't remember if they said it or not._

_Please review and check out my other stories._


	7. Killing You

_If anyone wants to nominate any of my MR fictions on one of the MR Awards linked on my profile, that'd be awesome. I think that my stories work really well in the angst and one-shot categories…hint hint._

_I edited You Left Me, The Impossible, and The Improbable for typos this week. I made some small changes where there were plot errors too._

_My internet's been acting up, so I haven't been able to post recently. Sorry._

_I didn't get that many reviews last chapter, but I expected that. I didn't really like it._

_I really want people to check out my other fictions. I have a lot of one-shots that don't have a lot of traffic…_

_My community is lonely. Check it out. Suggest stories to me, please. I love checking out new stuff._

_Review! Even if it's just to shamelessly self-promote your own story, I want reviews or PMs._

_OMG! I just realized that I said Total was living with her mother, but her Mom's evil! I totally messed up. That'll be fixed by tomorrow._

_I do not own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 6_

_Killing You_

* * *

MPOV

_Things explode and shatter around me. Their sounds are muted and dull. Flying metal bites into my skin, but I can't feel it. I am in an all too familiar place. The flat land that I remember so well has become our battleground, our burial ground._

_Is it fitting that we should end where we began? When that place is The School, I think not. The pristine labs and shining halls crumble strangely to meld with the empty, broken land. People fight, but I can't see their faces. All I see are the faces of the dead, their eyes staring unseeingly at me, flung open in judgment._

_My mother and sister lie broken and bloody at my feet. My mother the betrayer. I don't know if Ella turned on me. I don't care. Their final actions don't matter. All I can see is their death. They died in my fight, my battle. Did they die in my place? Should I be the one lying there with a sword in my stomach? With my hair matted with blood, twisted and tangled to frame my pale face?_

_"You didn't save us, Maximum."_

_"You never gave us your wings."_

_"You said you'd give us everything."_

_"You lied. We're dead because of you."Their voices float on the blood scented breeze. I fall to my knees in horror, looking at the ground. I raise my eyes to see the corpses of my mother and sister, but it is not them that I see._

_It's Angel._

_I gasp out in pain. Her corpse sits propped against the wall in a crude imitation of sitting. Her blonde hair is shorn on one side where a blade cut it. The other side is flared and curled, dark with blood and sweat, sticking to her shoulders and her face. Her eyes are closed._

_I crawl to her, weak with anguish. With shaking hands I check her pulse. There isn't one. My baby, my baby. Oh, god. They killed her._

_"You killed me, Max. Why didn't you save me? I thought you loved me. How could you let this happen?" I didn't mean to, Angel. I didn't-"It's your fault. I would have been a better leader. You should have listened to me. It's your fault. They're all dead because of you." The corpse lifts its arm like a marionette and points to its right. The scene becomes clear. I see them all. Everyone I love. Dead. Iggy, Gazzy, Nudge, even Jeb and Total. They look at me with those glassy eyes. All I see is hate and blame. I gasp out. No. It can't be my fault. I'm supposed to save them. But the losses are the savior's fault too. It isn't worth this. Nothing is worth this._

_I turn around a retch, kneeling on all fours. All sounds are muffled except for the beating of my heart, my feverish breathing. Those things that set me apart from the sea of corpses that now surround me._

_I look out into the distance, standing weakly. There's another person alive. It's Fang. Thank God. Thank god._

_"Fang!" He looks at me, whipping his head up. His eyes fill with loathing when he sees me. It shakes me to the core. No! I'm sorry. So sorry. Please, don't hate me. I love you. I don't speak._

_"You could have saved us. You could have saved me. You killed me. Why didn't you just leave me alone?" he says. Then a sword comes from nowhere. I see it pierce through his chest from behind. A wordless scream rips from my chest. It sounds inhuman._

_Fang crumples to the corpse covered ground. His body stands out sharply against the faceless dead. I run to him, not even thinking about my wings. His body is limp and lifeless, but his head turns to look at me with hate before it too falls. He's dead. Fang's dead. He hated me. I killed him by loving him._

"Max! Wake up!" Someone's shaking me. It's Fang. I gasp in a breath, clutching onto Fang desperately. My body shakes with fear and pain. I can't seem to shake the last bits of that dream world.

"It was a dream. Just a dream. Oh, God. Fang! You're alive. Just a dream." My incoherent words slur together. Fang somehow manages to understand me.

"You're okay. It's okay," he says. He moves from his kneeling position so that he's sitting and pulls me onto his lap. I let him comfort me, feeling like a small child.

"It's all right." His voice is soothing, familiar. I stay quiet, listening to his breathing for a long time. It seemed so real. How could it have been so real?

"I think I'm better now," I eventually say. It's after dawn. The kids managed to go back to sleep after my little episode. Apparently, my screaming woke them up.

"Are you sure?" Fang looks me in the eyes. I can see how worried he is. I feel guilty for putting him through that.

"I think so." But I make no move to get out of his embrace.

"Then tell me." I shudder. The fear is still so fresh. It felt so real. "Tell me," he says it soothingly. It's more like he's comforting me than asking for the tale. I give him a small smile and kiss him softly. It gives me strength. I begin to tell him my nightmare.

"You know that's crazy, right?" he says when I'm finished.

"You think?"

"Don't you?" I don't answer. I'm afraid there were elements of truth in the craziness. I've gotten all kinds of crazy warnings. Why shouldn't this be another one? Things are never what they seem.

"Max, if you don't believe we can pull this off, then why are we trying?" He eyes bore into mine, willing me to see reason. I know he's afraid he's losing me, afraid I'm going insane, that I'll crack under the pressure. I wish I was the invincible Maximum Ride again.

"I _do_ believe when can win." Fang gave me a 'continue' look. He'll know if I lie, so I give him part of the truth. "Fang, I just watched you die." The words hang stark and broken in the air between us. "You, better than anyone, should understand." He pulls me close. I breathe in his familiar scent.

"Max." I meet his eyes. I can see the memories haunting him. He actually had to live it. I wince.

"I'm sorry." He kisses me gently. He's telling me so many things without words. He's saying that he loves me. He's saying that he promised not to leave me, don't I remember that? He's not going to die on me. He's saying that we can do this. That he will never regret us. I hear it all as if he's said the words, and I feel a little better.

But there's still the part I didn't tell him, the rest of the truth. By loving Fang, I'm putting him in danger. By loving him, I'm killing him. Because he won't walk away. He'll follow me to places that only I'm supposed to go. They'll use him against me. They'll use everyone against me, and I'm too weak to let go again. I need their help to save the world, but that doesn't mean they're supposed to go with me. It doesn't mean he should go with me. But he will. Because I let him love me. Because I love him. And it gets harder and harder to let him go, to look away. It gets harder and harder to lose him. Because I keep falling more for him, and that's the destruction of Fang.

Or, you know, maybe I'm just being pessimistic.

"Let's fly," he suggests, breaking me away from my dismal thoughts. "Your wings should be working." I stretch my wings and nod. I let him pull me up, and we wake up Iggy to take watch. He doesn't even tease us. I must have shaken him too.

"I'm fine, Ig. Just a bad dream."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Am I correct in thinking this is not a normal occurrence?"

"That's correct…"

"What happened last night?"

"Fang took first watch."

"And…"

"Fang's my nightmare shield," I laugh. Iggy sighs.

"What?"

"Guess this means I'll be taking first watch from now on…" Fang and I look at each other and burst into laughter. It feels good. We head away from camp and take flight. The cold morning air beneath my wings couple with Fang by my side is enough. The demons have been chased away…at least until night falls again. I look at Fang.

"You really _are_ going to make him take first watch, right?"

"Of course," he smirks. I laugh. Looks like I'll have Fang to keep the bad dreams away. I should be happy, but all I can think while I'm looking into those dark eyes is, _Fang, do you realize that with every bit I fall in love with you, I'm killing you?_

* * *

_I stole the line "their eyes flung wide open in judgment" from Their Eyes Were Watching God. So I disclaim._


	8. Night Flight

_READ THIS: I'm beginning to think that the reason this story isn't as popular as the first is because of the summary. I want to change the quote in the summary. Help me decide which quote to use. Right now, I'm thinking:_

"_People fight, people die-for me, for the world."_

"_All I can see is their death. They died in my fight, my battle. Did they die in my place? Should I be the one lying there with a sword in my stomach? With my hair matted with blood, twisted and tangled to frame my pale face?"_

"_Fang's dead. He hated me. I killed him by loving him."_

"_By loving Fang…I'm killing him…He'll follow me to places that only I'm supposed to go. They'll use him against me…Because I let him love me. Because I love him…Because I keep falling for him, and that's the destruction of Fang."_

"_All I can think while I'm looking into those dark eyes is, __Fang, do you realize that with every bit I fall in love with you, I'm killing you?"_

_So let me know which I should use because I feel like the current quote isn't cutting it. if you have a different suggestion, let me know that too._

_Guys, I'm __getting a little worried. I hardly get any reviews when compared to The Impossible. This story only has a fraction of the alerts__ too. I just don't get it..._

_This is being written actually before chapter 6 because I thought this would be chapter 6, but anyway…_

_I don't own MR._

_Chapter 7_

_Night Flight_

* * *

FPOV

The sky is getting dark. We've been flying for a long time. The kids haven't complained yet though. Well, no more than the usual. It's so peacefully and calm that I can't help but compare it to another time I was flying at night. A shudder runs through me. That was the night Omega died, supposedly. I don't want to go back to those memories. Some things are better left behind. It's still difficult to think about, even when Max is right here beside me. I can't help but blame myself for most of it, if not all of it. I know Max does the same. It's who we are.

"What are you thinking about?" Max asks. Her eyes hold curiosity and worry, coated with the reflection of silver stars.

"Regret." She nods her understanding.

"I've done that often enough myself." I nod. We fly in silence for a while. At least, Max and I do. Nudge is babbling away in the background, but her words are stolen away by the wind.

"What, in particular, were you regretting?" I know she can't help but ask. We both have this natural instinct to protect each other. Maybe it's a bird thing. Or maybe it's just us. I don't want to voice the answer, knowing what she'll say in return. But I can't lie to Max.

"The choices that almost made me lose you." Her breath catches. I see darkness enter her eyes, the memories creeping up on her, threatening to destroy her.

"Fang, you couldn't have changed anything." Our eyes are locked. I can't look away. There's no judgment in her eyes, no blame.

"Couldn't I?" She shakes her head.

"There were too many things you didn't know, too many things I never told you." A part of her is far away from me. I feel a stretching in my heart like it's reaching out to pull her back, but she's already too far gone.

"Now _you're_ blaming yourself." She smiles a half-smile.

"It's what I do." Her eyes are sad. I want to wipe that sadness away. Max deserves so much more than this life. Why did fate have to be so cruel? Maybe it would have been kinder. We'll never know. The scientists didn't give us that opportunity.

"You don't have to take the blame for everything, Max." I reach over and move a piece of hair out of her face, needing the contact.

"Who else is there to blame? Who else will anyone blame, if we fail? It's me, Fang. It's always me." There's only resignation in her eyes.

"It's not only you. It's me. It's us. It's all of us. The Flock. This is who we are. This is what we do. Together. I thought we went over this?" That's probably one of the longest things I've said in a long time.

"You're right," she says, shocking me. "It is about all of us, but I'm the one who decides. I make the decisions, so I'm the one with regrets." I wonder if she's referring to a specific decision or just her leadership role in general. Maybe both.

"We all have regrets, Max. Jeb used to tell us that life's not about dying with no regrets. It's about choosing the regrets you can live with." I hate to quote Jeb. I know how confused she is about him.

"I know. He told me that all the time. That doesn't change anything. It doesn't make it easier." Her eyes are even darker. They swirl with a tempest of dark emotions.

"Where's this coming from anyway? Trying to ruin a perfectly good night flight?" I try to lift the mood. It's the only thing I know to do. Max is getting too far away for me to reach her, and I desperately need to pull her back. I desperately need her. Without her I'd crumble.

"You started it." She laughs. Damn, she's right. But at least she's allowing me to drop the subject.

"I hate it when you're right."

"You love it when I'm right." She grins. It lights up the night and goes straight to my heart, making it stutter.

"No, I don't."

"You said you love me always?"

"Yes…" I'm wary, knowing there's a trap.

"And I'm always right. Therefore, you love me when I'm right." She grins triumphantly.

"I love _you_ when you're right. I don't love _it_." She rolls her eyes.

"Same thing."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is."

"N-"

"Ah, a lovers' quarrel. When you two are done, we're getting a little hungry back here." Iggy calls. Max shoots a glare over her shoulder. I'm grateful for the return of some normalcy. Things were getting too depressing up here in this wide expanse of sky.

"Oh look, a restaurant. Isn't that the first we've seen in hours? Everybody thank Iggy for the who-knows-how-long wait because he just stopped us from landing," Max cheerily calls. A chorus of groans sounds, and I hear Iggy mutter in pain as Angel kicks him.

"Good going, idiot," Gazzy grumbles.

"It's not my fault Max is having hormonal issues-" Nudge slaps her hand over his mouth. That's an interesting change.

"You just can't turn it off, can you?" she hisses. He shrugs, looking sheepish. She smiles and removes her hand. Nudge kisses him on the cheek before returning to her original place in formation.

"Speaking of hormones…"Gazzy says, glancing pointedly between Iggy and Nudge.

"Ouch, OUCH!"

"Max! Nudge and Iggy hit me-OUCH! What was that for, Angel?"

"Just shut up! _God_…"

"Fine…"He trails off into his grumbles.

We fly a little longer. The night glitters around us, sparkling and soft. Max soars on a silver air current, an ethereal creature.

"I love you, Maximum." I say. She moves slightly ahead of me with the breeze. The moon and stars send light glittering off of her wings and hair. She looks over her shoulder at me, smiling softly.

"I know." She grins arrogantly. The mischievous air is still around her. She seems like a witch in the night, a beguiling creature from another world. Iggy flies up next to me.

"Man, you are so far gone," he laughs. I lunge at him. He just flips away and falls back next to Nudge.

"You know, he's right," Max says. Now it's her turn to smirk.

"Yeah, I know," I sigh. And she laughs. And _that_ makes it all worth it.

* * *

**Edit: I removed the first part of this chapter. I'm going to turn that into a one shot. it just didn't fit the flow. **


	9. Where It Began

_There are two MR Awards going on right now that I know of. It only takes a few seconds to nominate *hint hint*. If anyone wanted to nominate me, it could be for any of my stories, not just this one. It would mean so much to me. (_www **dot** fanfiction **dot** net/s/5204291/1/Maximum_Ride_Fanfiction_Awards_2 & mrawards **dot** yolasite **dot** com_)Both links are on my profile as well._

_I don't own MR._

_Chapter 8_

_Where It Began_

* * *

MPOV

The landscape below brings chilling memories to the edges of my mind, but I fight them away. Everything is bleak and menacing in a familiar way. The landscape is so bright as to be almost unreal. The sun weighs heavily on my wings, or maybe that's the weight of my guilt.

They're going to hate me for this. I wish I had the strength to turn away. I never wanted to go back, never wanted to relive those old memories. I know that they don't deserve this, but I'm doing it anyway. I'm taking them back to the one place I swore I'd never return to willingly.

I hate myself for doing this. The light hearted atmosphere has already been replaced by a drained tension. I think I'm the only one who notices. I wish I didn't have to do this to them. They're looking at me with those trusting eyes, following me back to hell.

I'm doing it because I have to know, to see for myself that my dream was a lie, that we're safe. It's imperative to know where we stand, what we face. So I'm going back. Every stroke of my wings brings me closer. I want to turn back, but I can't.

I'm not allowed to chicken out. I'm Maximum Ride. I'm Maximum Ride, so I'm doing this even though they'll hate me. I'm not giving them a choice because I'm afraid they'll leave me, and because I want to put off having to see the accusation in his eyes.

FPOV

We've been flying for a while. Iggy flies above Nudge and Angel behind us, trying to shelter them from the sun. Gazzy flies next to him, but his small frame doesn't offer much protection to the girls below. There aren't any clouds to shield us from the unforgiving sun. It scorches down from above us, and we cast huge shadows on the exhausted ground below. Plants are scarce, houses are even fewer. We're flying closer to the ground than we normally would due to the lack of habitation. It's eerily quiet. The only sounds are the shrill, haunting shrieks of the raptors that circle at an altitude just below ours. They're our only company in the skies. It's eerie and ominous. The world appears perfectly still, as if it waits. Everything seems all too familiar.

I turn my head to the right to look at Max. The sun's rays have begun bleaching her hair a lighter blonde. Her skin is tan. She looks like a normal teenage girl, enjoying the summer weather. Except most teenage girls don't have wings. Max's wings are beautiful. They move and arch powerfully. It makes my breath catch.

My gaze travels to Max's face. Her expression is shuttered. It takes me a moment to decipher her thoughts. I think at first that it is the Voice, but her eyes are not unfocused or foggy. She does not have that familiar exasperated or annoyed expression that she does when she is arguing with the Voice.

"What is it?" I glide closer to her, shielding our conversation from wandering eyes. Her eyes meet mine. There is a sadness there. I would never admit this to anyone, but it frightens me. Her eyes hold such a weary pain. She's been through so much that sometimes I'm afraid she'll break. I'm afraid that we put too much weight on her shoulders. One person can't be expected to carry it all.

"Don't you recognize it?" She nods towards the landscape below us. I'm reluctant to look away from her, but I manage to focus on the ground. It looks the same as it did before, an everlasting expanse of harsh, unforgiving, death. Death. Death Valley. The School. I have to force my breath not to catch. My gaze jumps to Max's. She nods and looks away.

I send her a questioning look. Why are we here? Why are we back in this place that we've tried so hard to be free of, this place that haunts our nightmares?

"This is where it began. I feel like this is where we need to go to make it finished," Max says. She doesn't look at me. I can see the goose bumps on her skin. She's not as unaffected as she seems. It's like I can already smell that sickening scent of antiseptic in the still air. I can almost feel the cold metal against my burning skin.

"It's okay," Max continues. "There shouldn't be anything to see. I just want to be sure. You know we have to know." I tilt my wings and glide back into m place beside her. I set my face into an emotionless mask, and unfamiliar surge of anger coming over me. She should have told me where we were headed. It's not that I don't trust her judgment under normal circumstances, but…this is different. This isn't your run of the mill mission, your average recon. What if the kids recognize it? What if there are still enemies lurking around? And she just had that dream about The School…I take a deep breath. I'm angry. I don't want to be angry at Max. I just hope she knows what she's doing.

MPOV

Fang moves away from me and tries to revert to his emotionless self. The mask slips into place but not before I saw the anger flash in his eyes. He stares straight ahead, not looking at me. Maybe I should have told him, but then we wouldn't be here. He would have talked me out of it.

"Fang…" I don't know what to say, and he doesn't appear to have heard me anyway. I know he's just ignoring me. Real mature. The idiot. But it hurts. "Fine, then," I mutter. "Be that way."

I let myself fall a little behind, so I don't have to see his angry eyes. I bet he doesn't notice that his hands are curled into fists. I hope he's keeping his thoughts to himself. I don't need Angel to hear anything about The School. I'd also rather she didn't hear the things he's probably thinking about me. So much for not taking the blame.

* * *

_This one is really short, but that's just because I don't feel like writing anymore. I just wrote the previous two chapters, and they were both longer than normal. Review! Nominate me for stuff! lol. I'll update soon._

_By the way, I feel like I'm losing inspiration because of the lack of reviews. So if you could just take a few seconds to click that little review button, it'd mean a lot._


	10. Poison Flames

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 9_

_Poison Flames_

* * *

MPOV

Feathers rustle darkly as wings are drawn in. Six pairs of feet softly touch the barren ground. The soil cracks and shifts beneath my worn in sneakers. I draw in a deep breath, afraid of where I am, afraid of my choices. Obviously, the others know what's going on by now. Five pairs of accusing eyes bore into my back, but I don't meet their gazes. This is hard enough.

I can hear Jeb's reassuring voice on the breeze; smell the long gone scent of antiseptic. And to make it all worse, I can see, literally see, the shell of the School directly in front of me. It's not a hallucination, not a nightmare. It's there in front of me, but this building is not a dilapidated ruin; this building is an empty shell, whole and intact, but abandoned. A shudder slithers over my skin; it feels like poison, like death, like regret.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath through my nose. The air is tinged with a foreboding of fire, of brimstone, of the nightmare of death. I open my eyes quickly to dispel the dream world that's closing in on me.

No one has said a word. They're waiting for me to lead, but I don't know what to do. I can't believe they're still following my lead anyway, after all I've gotten us into.

I shed the weight of fear and memories and shoulder the persona of the Invincible, Unbreakable Maximum Ride. This enables me to take a few steps toward the death coated structure in front of me, the birth place of our deepest fears, our darkest secrets.

I begin a careful inspection, not seeing any signs of recent visitors. There's absolutely no evidence to suggest that anyone is planning anything within these walls. It's deserted, but I can't seem to shake the haunting visions from my dream. Could it really have been just a nightmare, stemming from old fears? I want to believe it, but the memory is still strong. The dream was so real. I don't know what to think.

I finished checking the perimeter of the building. It's relatively small compared to The Institute and the headquarters in Germany. The Cage was about the same size. I guess they like to keep things as unobtrusive as possible, so that they can go unnoticed.

I really don't want to go inside. I'm not sure any of us could stand willingly entering those doors. It's enough to note the absence of footprints, the lack of humming power sources and other things that are necessary for places like The School to thrive. I turn to Fang, trying to meet his gaze, hoping to get his advice. His eyes don't shy away from mine as I had expected; they meet my gaze with fiery anger. I flinch inwardly.

_What should we do? _my eyes ask.

_This is your mission, not mine, _his eyes say back. _Keep me out of this. _I look away, hating that his accusing anger hurts me.

I run a distracted hand through my hair. If we don't go in we can't be sure, but I can't make my feet travel toward the entrance. I look back at my Flock. They stand in a tight group, fear and paranoia shimmering in the air around them almost visibly. I feel strangely separated from them. It's like an out of body experience.

I look at Fang again, but his gaze is fixed firmly behind me. The rest of the Flock stares at me. The weight of those gazes pin me in place. What to do? Finally, I choose their safety and happiness over the Save the World Mission as I always have, as I always will.

"Okay, let's go. We don't have to go in." The words leave me feeling cold. I know I should take every precaution in this war because that's what it is now, a war. It's not my fault I'm so weak. Thankfully, the words have an opposite effect on the Flock. Their muscles lose some of their tension, but their eyes still hold emotions that I hate to name.

We fly a short distance away. It's not enough to dispel all of the tension and paranoia because we've already been flying all day, but it gets The School out of our sights. Our roost for the night is just a flat expanse of land banked by a large rock and a few small green patches that I hesitate to call bushes.

We form a small fire in deafening silence. I refuse to apologize for doing what I had to do, but I still feel a little guilty. When night falls, Nudge and the kids go to sleep. I've stopped grouping Nudge with the children. She's getting older now. Iggy, Fang, and I sit in uncomfortable tension. I keep my eyes on the flames in front of me because it's easier than seeing the rage and disappointment on their faces.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Iggy finally spits out. I feel some relief. At least we're going to have this out now.

"I had to make sure that The School was not being rebuilt and reused." He doesn't respond. Fang's probably shooting sparks by now, but it's not like he shouldn't have seen it coming. "Look, I'm not going to apologize. It was necessary, and you know it."

"Was it really necessary, Max? What was necessary about it? Was it necessary to expose the kids to the place where their nightmares spawn from, where _your_ nightmares spawn from? Was that _necessary_? Was it necessary to take us back to that place without even giving us a _choice_? I fail to see why it had to be that way. Please explain." I've never heard Iggy so angry.

"Ig, I…" I don't have a response. Why didn't I tell them? Maybe set the kids down somewhere while I checked it out alone?

"Didn't you consider that I might have right to know we were going back to that…prison. Why couldn't you tell me? You didn't even fucking tell Fang. Sometimes I don't know what's going on with you anymore. Being the leader doesn't mean being selfish." I'm speechless, stunned. Maybe

"I didn't know you felt that way, Iggy," I bite out. "Maybe you should give someone else the job then. Why don't you just make the six year old leader? I'm sure she'd do a better job." I laugh bitterly.

"Don't make this about you, Max. This isn't about you. This is about the choice you made." Suddenly, I'm angry. I haven't been this angry in so long, and it feels good. I've _never_ been this angry at Iggy before.

"'The choice'? You think I really had a _choice_? Do you think I _ever_ have a choice? Do you think I got up in the morning and thought, 'Huh, what would be the best way to piss off _everyone_ I care about today? Oh, I know. Let's take them back to _The School_. That'll be a nice field trip.'" Iggy and I are both facing each other on our feet across the fire. "Tell me, Iggy. Is that what the hell you think? Is that what you think, Fang? I thought you knew me better than that. What was that talk about me not taking the blame, just empty words?" Now I've brought Fang into this too. Good, arguing with Fang is familiar territory.

"And there she goes again," Iggy says. I know he's saying that I made it about me again. I want to launch myself across the fire and strangle him. How can he say these things? It hurts, but I'm not about to tell him that. I can't cry, so my only defense is anger.

"God, what do you want me to say? How can I make this not about me? It's always fucking been about me, about me saving the world. I'm fucking Maximum Ride, so I make the hard decisions. You want to talk about choices. It's not like I _chose_ this. I never asked for any of this." Tears are welling up, but I fight them back. I will not let him see me cry.

"We never asked for this either, Max. You aren't the only one." His voice is quieter, but not in an 'I'm sorry' way, and he's basically calling me selfish again while Fang just sits there. I tried to get him to fight, but he's just watching me.

"Will you stop? Just stop, okay. You want me gone? I'm gone." I turn away and spread my wings, jumping into the night sky.

FPOV

"What the hell was that about?" I hiss, getting to my feet, but I'm not sure if I'm standing to go after Max or to fight Iggy. I can't decide who I'm madder at. Originally, it was Max. I still can't believe that she took us back to The School. I was sitting there, only able to control my temper because that's what I do, and because I knew I'd get the chance to have it out with her later, but then my anger redirected toward Iggy. How could he say those things to her? Seeing the unshed tears behind her eyes, seeing her flinch back from his words, the hurt tension in her shoulders as she flew away, it killed me. It was even worse because he was saying the things that I had been thinking to start with.

Now, my anger's gone altogether. I can't really figure out why I was so angry to begin with. Max did what she had to do, as she always does. It's not like I would have let her go to The School by herself, and it's not like the others would have stayed behind. We all knew that, so what got into us?

Iggy shakes his head as if to clear it and sits down with a weak thump. He shakes his head again, looking up at me in confusion.

"I have no idea." My muscles tense with paranoia. What the hell is going on here? "It's like…I've never been that angry before. I felt like a fiery poison spilt into my blood or something, like I was burning from the inside out. I just had to let it out, and it seemed important to let it out on Max." He shakes his head _again_. This will need further examining…later. Right now, I have to go after Max.

I have a terrible feeling about everything. It seems too much like a trap. Could they have created something to make us fight? It would be the perfect way to divide us, too get Max alone and…I take off without finishing my thought. This has mad-scientist written all over it. All I know is that I have to get to Max before…whatever's going to happen happens.

* * *

_Well, that was…unexpected. I sat down to write a chapter about seeing The School and old memories, maybe throw a little Faxy make-up scene in there and then _this_ flows out of my fingertips. I really need your feedback on this one because…I have no idea what happened, ha. My plot line just took a detour. Review, please._


	11. The Fury of the Storm

_Okay, here's the new chapter. I haven't had the time to update lately because of school. The only reason I have this one is because the only friend who has the same lunch as me was absent, so I had time to write it then. Unfortunately, I wrote it in third person because I'm an idiot, so I had to go back and change it to first without it sounding dumb. Despite all of these barriers, I'm posting, so you can all stop yelling at me._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 10_

_The Fury of the Storm_

* * *

MPOV

I fly with wings of fire. They attack the air, devouring rather than slicing through. I don't bother with super speed, half-hoping to be followed by a certain, repentant, dark-haired someone. I honestly don't know what I'm feeling. Rage, hurt, confusion, exhaustion, fear, and worry combine like colors in my heart to make a sort of soupy, gray mixture. It paints the world, coating it in a murky slime.

It starts to storm. Gray clouds open and spew gray water down onto gray earth. My wings grow heavy, and I know I should land. I don't. I feel like I'm running, like stopping would allow the world to swallow me whole. Although there's not much below that could be more dangerous than this wind ridden storm cloud.

I keep flying, maybe I'm running. Am I running from Ig, from his harsh words, from the way he looked at me? Am I running from facing Fang's anger, afraid he'll agree with Iggy, ask me to leave? Or am I running from Fang himself, from the fact that he didn't argue back at Iggy, from the cold agreement glittering in his eyes?

Maybe an evil part of me wants him to feel guilty. Maybe I want to feel the storm ravish my wings to the bone and draw blood, so I know what I'm feeling is real. Real. It hits me like the lightning that crackles around me. Everyone was on an emotion high. Could it have been a trick, a trap? Could they have made us lash out? I'm probably just paranoid. I _know_ I'm paranoid, just fabricating a reason for the things they said.

I still do not land or turn back. My muscles are shaking with the effort to move my wings. I'm buffeted by the winds, and I drop a good distance when I miss a beat. My heart flutters wildly, but I right myself. Lightning strikes, and I feel it's crackling remnants in the air. My hair stands on end. This is unnecessarily dangerous, but I couldn't turn around now if I wanted to. I'm caught in the fury of the storm.

I almost get hit by another crackle of lightning, nearly blown into it by the wind. I even feel my wing scorch. The tattered feathers that had been numb light up with pain, stand on end before falling limp. I start spiraling, unable to maintain my balance.

I fly sideways, desperately trying to right myself. My strength is giving out, and my body is still being cut by hard slashes of rain, causing me to quickly lose the little altitude I gain. The glimpse I catch of land reveals jagged rocks opened heavenward at the tips of the mountains, dangerously close to my failing body.

Another bolt strikes behind me, and the ensuing thunder nearly deafens me. I have no escape from the crashing, striking, ripping storm. I'm not giving up, but I'm most likely going to die, a sacrifice to the storm's fury. And even if I make it out, Fang's going to kill me.

FPOV

I'm almost certain that the scientists are up to something. I don't believe in coincidence. Max getting driven away from the Flock at the same time that we return to the School? Too much of a accident.

The other thing is that all of my anger was so heightened. I was angry, and I think Iggy made some good points, but neither of us would ever have said those things to Max under normal circumstances. We're both capable of seeing the logic, but it was like logic was blocked out.

And now there's a giant storm on the horizon that I just _know_ Max is in the middle of. I can feel it in my bones. It's like my entire world is perched on the edge of a cliff, and I'm running, running to save it. I have this terrible, wrenching suspicion that I won't get there in time.

Nevertheless, I'm flying as fast as I can toward the spot where I watched Max disappear into the clouds. Is she suicidal? There's no way she could fly though that, even with her hyper speed. My heart's beating intensely fast. It feels like I'm fighting for Max's life all over again.

I got a slow start to my pursuit because of the remaining anger that I still felt. All of that is gone. Max and I will have to have a serious talk about her decision to come here, but I know it will come back to the fact that she's the leader and I should trust her. And I do. I trust Max with my life.

Maybe the scientists' emotion-heightening experiment was already taking effect way back when we were flying. I don't know. We're completely ignorant to the extent of their power, but it would explain why I got so bent out of shape, why Iggy decided to attack Max verbally. I wonder why the kids seemed to escape unaffected. Now's probably not the best time to peruse that subject. I really should focus on getting to Max.

The great clouds loom before me like an angry god, waiting to consume me. I'm not afraid. Max is in there. Nothing in the world could stop me from following her. I have a very real fear though, and that is the fear of losing her. It's greater than any fear I've ever known, and I had hoped to never experience this terror again.

If only Iggy had held his tongue…but I shouldn't blame him. If he hadn't lashed out, I might have even though I'm supposed to be Mr. Emotionless, Mr. One Word Sentence. I know that my lack of yelling didn't stop Max from sensing my anger. She'd have known that I was silently agreeing with Iggy's words, even while the sane part of me was screaming out in denial.

MPOV

With ever sluggish beat of my wings, I fall closer to the knife-like rocks below. I'm desperately trying to keep in the air long enough to be free of them, but I don't know if it's possible. I know I'm going to come crashing down eventually. If I could just make it above some less threatening scenery, I might have a chance.

And all the while Iggy's words float in my head.

"_Being the leader doesn't mean being selfish."_

"_Was it really necessary, Max…to expose the kids to the place where their nightmares spawn from."_

I am confronted with my own shortcomings repeatedly as I fight for my life, for the future of the world because I still believe that it's my job to save it. I idly, somewhat insanely, wonder how I'll save the world if I'm nothing but a Max-shaped smear on the jagged tips of the rocks below. I'd laugh if I had the strength.

If the anger really was just a scientist's experiment, then Fang's probably somewhere behind me in the storm. The thought is both comforting and frightening. The idea of him undergoing this torture is despicable. But maybe he's just lounging comfortably by the fire, sharing tales of my failed plans with Iggy under the starry sky, free from the rage of the storm. One can only hope, although I do loath the idea of him hating me. Obviously, my mind is fragmented, confused.

I fight forward, gaining a little "ground" with a small surge of strength. The advance is quickly lost as a wind throws me back. I can almost feel the sharp rocks cutting into my skin. What the hell was I thinking? I should have stopped when I had the chance, but I kept going when I knew it was a possibly fatal decision. I all but abandoned my Flock and the world. Maybe I really am as selfish as Iggy claimed. As I duck my head to soften the whip-like force of another stream of rain, I'm seriously questioning whether I'll make it out of here alive.


	12. God Can Take the Blame

_Hello, everyone. Isn't this a quick update? I didn't get that many reviews last chapter. Do you all just hate me or something? Kidding. Anyway, I feel like I've got my groove back! Yay! It's mostly thanks to this MR fiction I read, A Little Place Called Home. It reminded me what I used to love about fanfiction. That means the writing from here on out should be more like the style of The Impossible which you all know and (hopefully) love. It seems like school is the only thing that gets me depressed enough to write like this, lol. Let me know what you think._

_I do not own MR._

_Chapter 11_

_God Can Take the Blame_

* * *

My whole body is consumed in icy fire. Little cuts open in my skin where shards of icy rain slice past me, laughing at my expense. The rocks are still looming ever closer, and I just can't seem to free myself from this fatal storm.

_"Sorry, Fang," _I think. He doesn't deserve this. Even if he is mad at me, I know what my death will do to him.

_And I just got him back_, something inside of me cries in despair. Aren't we just an ill fated couple?

I hate myself for this, as if the Flock needs to deal with me dying all over again. I flap my wings powerfully in frustration, but they hardly do any good. In fact, I've lost altitude again. It's all I can do to stay conscious and in flight.

I've given up hope of rescue. All I can do now is pray that Fang isn't stupid enough to follow me into this mess. Prayer, the final effort of the damned. But I'm not praying for myself. I'm not even sure I'm praying. Maybe it's more like wishing, desperately trying to turn my will into fact. I don't know. My head is spinning.

Will this torment ever end? Will I never be free from these crushing winds and waters? Is the only escape death? In holding on am I simply forcing another member of the Flock to risk their life by rescuing me? Am I as selfish as Iggy said?

I do not know the answers to these questions, and I don't have the ability to ponder them. I have a singular focus, to live.

My wings are finally giving out. With each shaking flap I fall lower, buffeted in God knows what direction by the wind. My hair has been butchered by the icy rain, but it still manages to fall into my face, sticking to my skin, catching on my eyelashes, melding with the blood from my small cuts, blinding me further. It's not as if I can see much anyway; everything is gray.

I take deep, steady breaths. It's the only way I know to calm myself. It doesn't really help since breathing through my mouth in this storm is the same as sucking down a river. My hands are fisted tightly. My whole being is focused ahead, but I know it is not enough.

To think that, not so long ago, I welcomed death. Now, I would give anything to have stayed at the campfire under Iggy's damning stare. It would be far better than dying this way. I haven't done anything I'm supposed to do.

_Voice! _I call to the only being I can think of who might possibly have a chance of saving me. There's no answer. _Voice, get off your freaky little butt and help me! I promise I'll work harder on saving the world if you do? I'll make disembodied voices an official species or race or…whatever. Nothing?_

A few more minutes of pleading and bossing go by. The Voice doesn't answer. I'm officially alone. When I really dig around in my mind, I can almost feel an empty space where the Voice used to be.

I refuse to cry. I've done far too much giving in lately. I'll just have to find a way to get myself out of this. But that's looking more and more unlikely as my muscles struggle to keep my air born. _Come on, wings, don't fail me now._

I can feel my mind wanting to flashback, to relive happier times. I can see my life waiting to flash before my eyes. It's actually a pretty sorry view. Not much of a life, was it? Everything I set out to do fell through. The only thing I've accomplished in my entire "destiny" driven life is saving the Flock from the School.

But then again, I brought them all the way back. I practically gift wrapped them for the scientists to take. These are the thoughts that bring me down inside, but also force me to keep going. Do I really want to _allow_ my life to be one, big, pathetic, failure? I am Maximum Ride, don't I get a say in this?

I'm half-praying again, asking a higher authority for a little justice. I haven't asked for much in my short, bird-kid life, so just this once can said higher power cut me some slack? I sincerely doubt it.

The storm seems immortal. It goes on and on to the very horizon. A giant wave of frigid water sloshes over me. It trickles down my back and legs uncomfortably, burning little trails of numbness into my flesh. Lightning strikes nearby. The heavens are unleashing their rage in one final, torturous, mocking tempest.

_Fang._ He pops into my head out of nowhere. It gives me strength to keep going, as stupid and corny as that sounds. Fang's just good like that. I can see his eyes glint at me angrily.

"_There's no way in _hell_ you're letting this stupid little storm destroy you, Max. Do you hear me?"_ In my mind I nod. Even though I know this is a delusion, a fantasy, it's comforting.

"_You know I'm coming for you, right? You're not going to give up on me now, are you?" _My heart literally stops. I feel the fierce need to protect even this dream-Fang. _"Max?" _I can't form a coherent thought, and this imaginary Fang is getting worried. _"Maximum?!"_

"Jesus_, shut up. You're giving me a headache," _I grumble.

"_Max?"_

"_What?! I'm a little busy right now."_ I choose to answer sharply, so that Imaginary-Fang won't recognize the extent of my exhaustion. My mental Fang regards me with a serious expression.

"_You're coming out of this alive, aren't you? Max?" _I squeeze my eyes shut to dispel the image, leaving him with no reply. Because the answer is: No, Probably not.

The ground is getting closer and closer, but the storm just seems to be getting stronger. I regret the things I said to the real Fang before I left. I never wanted it to end like this. My thoughts sound like those of someone who's accepted death. I haven't. I'm sure Fang, wherever he is, wouldn't believe that, not after last time.

_I promise, I'm not giving up. If I was, you'd know. Remember last time?_ I wish I could fling the words out to comfort Fang, but what good would that really do? He'd probably just worry more anyway. That's how Fang is. I wish I had the time to give him the goodbye he deserves. Instinctively, I know goodbye will never be enough.

Goodbye. I can't remember what I last said to Angel, Nudge, or Gazzy. I don't want to remember what I last said to Iggy. I'm sure they know how much I love them. I don't want them to hurt anymore. I never intended to leave them again. They need me. I need them.

_I'm sorry, babies._ Now a single tear falls. It gets lost among the raindrops.

Thinking about the Flock and Fang gave me a sudden burst of strength. Maybe I have a chance. But this storm isn't willing to be merciful. A bolt of lightning strikes in front of me. I miss a beat of my wings, and I don't have the strength to make it up. I'm finally going down, literally. All the "sorry"s in the world can't change the situation. All the regrets won't change a thing.

So, like I said, I'm not praying for me. Maybe I'm not praying for the Flock or the world either. Maybe I'm just hoping for someone else to take the blame.

* * *

_This is pretty short, but I feel like it's closer to my old style. Tell me what you think, so I know if I've really got my groove back. If I have, I might go back and fix those early chapters that everyone thinks are so boring._


	13. Blind Fear

_New chapter, yay! I just want you all to know that __**I went back and edited Chapters Prologue-Where It Began**__ to make them a little more appealing to those of you who said my writing style was off this time around. They're only slight changes except for in Chapter Night Flight,(previously His Smirk) because I realized that that one was really inconsistent with the rest of the story, so I took the beginning out, and I'm going to make that part into a one shot._

_Please don't hate me for the wait. I had a lot of difficulty with this chapter mainly because it's in Iggy's POV._

_I also need you to tell me your opinions on OCs being used in this story. It's kind of important for what happens from here on out, so let me know._

_Ah, I remember the days when The Impossible was stuck at 108 reviews. That's where we are now. Let's see if we can move past that._

_I don't own MR._

_Chapter 12_

_Blind Fear_

* * *

Previously on The Improbable:

"_Thinking about the Flock and Fang gave me a sudden burst of strength. Maybe I have a chance. But this storm isn't willing to be merciful. A bolt of lightning strikes in front of me. I miss a beat of my wings, and I don't have the strength to make it up. I'm finally going down, literally. All the "sorry"s in the world can't change the situation. All the regrets won't change a thing._

_So, like I said, I'm not praying for me. Maybe I'm not praying for the Flock or the world either. Maybe I'm just hoping for someone else to take the blame."_

* * *

IPOV

Max and Fang have both managed to disappear from the face of the earth, leaving the blind guy in charge. The world is eerily quiet. It makes me feel helpless. Sound is really all I have. And my world right now is devoid of everything. There are two familiar people missing and it's created a void, a void filled with guilt.

Not to mention if they die, I'm going to be stuck as leader. And then I'll have to kill them. I don't particularly enjoy being in charge. I mean, how does Max manage to say no to Angel? And how am I supposed to tell Gazzy not to blow things up? That's Max's job. It's her job to be in charge, her job to be the hero. I'm definitely not cut out for that. And what would flock life be like without Mr. Emo? I'm not cut out to be Fang either. I can't be there for Max to lean on so heavily. I can't shield her from nightmares. I can only be me.

I stand up and pace around the fire. I stay just outside the circle of warmth, feeling it lick at my side. That's the only reason I know where the fire is at all. That, and the crackling noise that it makes.

Angel and Gazzy are asleep. Their breaths come slowly and shallowly. They're so blissfully unaware. It must be nice. Nudge is pretending to be asleep, but I know the arguing woke her up. When she's asleep, she makes little noises. It's hard to describe. Just suffice it to say that Nudge can't be quiet even when she's unconscious.

I continue my pacing, puzzling out what just happened. It's like my emotions were in control of my body and not the other way around. Maybe I'm losing my mind. That'd be just great. I'd be blind, a "pyro" (as Max puts it), and insane. A real mad scientist.

I hear a rustling that tells me Nudge just sat bolt upright.

"What was that?" She whispers. I start to walk to her side, my senses on alert; there was genuine fear in her voice.

"Well seeing as I'm blind, I wouldn't be the best person to ask," I joke. Her breathing is fast; she's truly scared. "Listen, I'm sure it was nothing. Probably just an animal. I didn't hear anything at all." Which is odd because I usually have the best hearing.

Then I do hear something. It's like a little scuffling coming from behind Nudge. I freeze.

"You heard it," she whispers. "Oh, God. What if it's an Eraser? Or a Whitecoat? Or a Flyboy? Or a bunch of Flyboys because they never really seem to be alone...or maybe it's Omega again. He was pretty creepy. Oh, God." I crouch down next to her, but am sure to keep facing toward the noise.

"It's okay. We're going to be fine." I hear a noise behind me and tense, ready to attack. If Max and Fang come back and we're all dead, I have a feeling they won't be too happy. But the light footsteps tell me it's just Angel. Great, now she's awake to be scared too.

She crawls around me and settles next to Nudge. We stay quiet for a few minutes, waiting to see what will happen. Gazzy gets up and joins us. We're all waiting in a little bunch on Nudge's sleeping bag.

The quiet sounds of the night are all I hear. Whatever made the noise seems to be gone, but I'm not ready to let my guard down yet. Someone is messing with us, and they know I know it. I knew it was a terrible idea to come back here.

"It's a person," Angel whispers in shock.

"What? There aren't any people out here."

"We're out here," Nudge points out. "If we can go camping out here, so can other people. Although, I don't see why anyone would want to go camping at all especially out here. It's so boring..." I gently reach over and put my finger to her lips. She actually shuts up, her breath catching in her throat. I have to suppress the urge to smirk like Fang.

"_Earth to Iggy," _Angel's voice sounds in my head. Right, there are more important things to focus on at the moment.

"Explain, Angel."

"I can hear their thoughts…sort of. They're a little…fractured? It's hard to explain. It might be something different about the way they think, or it might be that they're trying to block me." I have a feeling she's squinting, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"It's okay, Angel. If they want to talk to us, they will."

"They do want to talk to us, I think. I can't tell. It's all confused."

"Wait, how many are there?" I hone in on that important detail. Please, not more than we can take. Please, please, just this once let us have the advantage.

"I think three, or two…or one. I don't know." She sounds frustrated. I wish Max was here; she'd know what to say.

The night quiets. "They" don't seem to be moving around much anymore. Angel, Gazzy, and Nudge start to fall asleep. I'm fighting to stay awake myself, praying that Max and Fang get back soon. What if I've scared Max away for good? I didn't mean what I said…

"Of course you did," I low, velvet, venom voice says from an area to my left. I jump to my feet. "We didn't put words in your head. That was all you." The voice is feminine, and it sounds evilly pleased.

"Who's there?" My heart's beating fast, adrenaline starting to pump through my system.

"Oh, calm down. If I wanted you dead, you would be by now." The voice is frightening, cold and calculating. It reminds me of a snake.

"You know I can read your mind, right?" she laughs. Even that sounds menacing.

"What so you're like Angel?" I back up a step as I hear her get closer to me only to back into someone else. I jump away. How did I not ear someone get that close to me? And why do I feel so afraid? It's not as if we haven't blown up way worse enemies than them before.

"You feel afraid," she explains slowly as if talking to a child, "because my companion here is amplifying your emotions." She seems like she would be jumping for joy if it wouldn't ruin her cool. I roll my eyes.

"First, I'm blind not stupid. Second, you're making a really bad first impression. And third, what the hell are you talking about?" I can hear the others sitting up, catching their breaths in shock and confusion.

"Ig, what's going on? Who are they?" Nudge asks. "Who are you?" She directs the question at the evil-sounding woman. I know the answers are coming now. I can hear them speeding toward me like an unstoppable train, and I know they're answers that I don't want to know. I can practically hear the mind-reader's evil grin, picturing it in my mind. I can hear her heart beating with excitement. Her companion(s) is(are) still silent.

"We're the reason you're here, the reason everyone felt so intensely. We're the reason Iggy said such dreadful things to your beloved leader, the reason he got to her enough to scare her away. And," she says slowly, savoring the words, "we're the reason that dear old Maximum is _never. coming. back._"

* * *

_So, dear readers, do you like my new OC? If you don't, let me know because it's kind of important. I just want to assure you that they won't be those kind of OCs that tag along with the Flock for the whole story, but sort of like how Omega is in this story. There will probably be the "evil" one that you just met, but she won't be that big a part of the story. A "not so evil one" that might have a few appearances in the story, or not. And then one that's "in-between" who also might crop up again. This is only if you don't have a problem with them. And they won't be Mary Sues._

_Review, please?_


	14. To The Death

_Hello, lovelies! So, you've probably noticed that there's a __**NEW SUMMARY**__. In case you haven't, there's a new summary! I know, it's exciting. It's there because I finally figured out where this story's going! I'm very happy._

_Sorry for the wait! I have no excuse. I'm just a bad, bad person._

_So, I wish I could just go back and delete everything in this story and rewrite it, but I can't. I hate how it was written. The style's probably going to be changing after this. If it's super incohesive (Microsoft Word says that that's not a word…) or if you hate it, let me know._

_Oh, by the way, thanks for pushing the reviews up. Let's keep up the good work._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 13_

_To The Death_

* * *

_Previously:_

"_We're the reason you're here, the reason everyone felt so intensely. We're the reason Iggy said such dreadful things to your beloved leader, the reason he got to her enough to scare her away. And," she says slowly, savoring the words, "we're the reason that dear old Maximum is __never. coming. back.__"_

* * *

FPOV

The night rides so beautifully beneath my wings. It's soft and silken and so supportive, in stark contrast to the raging turbulence attacking me from above. Nature is alive. It crackles and bites like an angry beast. It withholds all mercy, but I fly on. Max is somewhere ahead, somewhere past the hazy fog of gray rain.

I can feel how close I am. My being stretches forward, straining to get closer. There is pain, so much pain, but I am capable of ignoring it, capable only because my fear is so much more overpowering. Silence and sound are inseparable. Everything is just a dull roar that echoes in my veins, striking off of my skin.

I know I will fall, know it in a hidden fearful place that looks like the child I used to be. He huddles deep inside of me, peering out through metal bars. I ignore him, having no choice but to go forward. It isn't as if I can stop now, turning back would be just as deadly as moving forward.

I see a flash of gold or white, some bright color that stands out in the gray darkness. Max. My wings pump powerfully; everything I am is being exhausted in that flapping movement. I feel as if the combined power of humanity won't be enough to propel me fast enough because she's falling. Maximum Ride is rocketing toward the rocks below, weighed down by water and numbly languid.

This is the part where I tell how my heart stops and my being slows, focused around that one central point, the falling figure in front of me. But I honestly don't notice any of that. I don't notice much of anything. My senses are still too numb to register much of anything, so my actions are pure impulse, or pure luck.

I stop flapping. By some bizarre instinctual knowledge, I choose to drop. It goes against everything I know, everything I feel, but I'm past thought. The water carries me down, my weight tugged downward by gravity. Max is down below, although I can barely see her, and I have no idea how high above the soul-splintering rocks we may be.

We're both light enough that the winds buffet us in uneven zigzags toward the earth, but I'm heavier. I fall more linearly and faster. Max's fight against the winds has obviously been lost and the currents of air swoop her backward. I gain on her, falling faster and faster, my limbs almost too frozen to move.

It takes everything I have not to reach for her as we become more level, and then I pass her. When I'm slightly below her, I can see how close we are to death, and doubt creeps in. My wings expand to their full, tattered length, and I turn just right to grab Max's body. She's so cold, so frigid, that I'm afraid she's dead.

I curl her into my chest, fighting to stay airborne, but it's a battle lost before it's begun. We plummet. My wings are bent almost backward by the wind. I'm forced to pull them in. I have a tight hold on Max, refusing to let her go. She hasn't moved, but I'm hoping she's simply unconscious. It would make sense; Max would have fought to the death. I wince at the phrase, not 'to the death' just until unconsciousness claimed her.

I cradle her gently, even while my heart beats rapidly. I'm probably going to die, but at least I can shelter Max. I turn in the air, my back to the earth. I'd rather not watch the rock zoom upward to pierce my flesh. Besides, Max will be protected this way. She stirs just as I feel the air change. We're about to make contact with the ground. I kiss her head one last time and force my wings open one last time, wrapping them around her.

* * *

_This is super short because I wanted to get something to you guy fast, but I'm going to start the next part now probably. I'll post it as soon as I get some reviews. ;)_


	15. Demon Wings

_Woot! Woot! Let's hear it for Angel's POV! (Thought I'd leave you in suspense over Max and Fang for a while. ;] )_

_I updated my other MR story, All Fall Down. It's basically just a depressing, woe-is-me-everyone-dies-except-Max-and-Iggy-but-not-Miggy-and-hey-don't-know-the-other-is-alive-let's-watch-Fang's-emo-last-thoughts-in-the-third-chapter, angsty story, haha. You should read it._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 14_

_Demon Wings_

* * *

_Previously:_

_We're about to make contact with the ground. I kiss her head one last time and force my wings open one last time, wrapping them around her._

* * *

FPOV

It's surprisingly easy to die, swift and slow at the same time. It's like slipping into sleep, terrifying, frightening sleep. It's a nightmare. Max knows; I can feel her fast breathing, but we don't speak. What's the use? Death has come for us. We've probably been running on luck all these years anyway, cheated death too many times for fate's taste.

The ground connects with my back or, I guess, I connect with it. Rocks scrape and pierce, puncturing my wings like thousands of needles. God, I hate needles. I don't let go of Max, holding her as we crash into death with all the subtlety of a train wreck.

And just like a train wreck, I bet you can't look away. You have to know if we're dead. I wish I knew the answer, but all I know is pain.

APOV

I can count three of them. They're terrifying. The fear pumps through my body, paralyzing me in place. If only Max were here, or Fang.

I wish it were day, nothing bad ever happens under the sun. It's just the darkness, just the night, just a night mare, just a nightmare. I squeeze my eyes shut tight. Make it go away.

_Now, Angel, you know that won't work. We're really here. _My eyes fly open and it's still dark. There are no stars, no points of hopeful benevolence. The one who spoke was the scary woman who was talking to Iggy. She's tall and…venomous. The snake-thing is just an illusion; she's not actually part snake. That much I can tell.

She makes me feel helpless. I hate feeling helpless. She's got this evil glint in her eyes, and it's all just a game to her. She _loves_ death, murder. It's what she does, like food to her. Her fingernails are like claws, long and sharp and deadly. I bet she'd like to rip us apart with her hands.

There are two others. One of them is the emotion-amplifying one. I'm thinking that it has to be the small one in the shadowy area near the fire. He/she is so quiet, so still. I think he/she is concentrating intensely, but I can't know for sure because her/his mind is blocked.

The last one is behind me and Nudge. He's tall, but not as tall as Iggy. His mind isn't blocked, and he doesn't feel totally evil. His power has to do with the storm I think. Oh god, if Max and Fang are dead, it's all his fault. I can't get a clear picture of him from his mind though. It doesn't matter, they're all murderers. I don't want to know them because then I'll have to care about them.

That's what knowledge does to you. It gives you a choice and then takes it away. It's the curse of humanity. I should know; I hear it all. The absence of knowledge is what makes me feel helpless, but being able to find the knowledge in people's minds also makes me weak. I can't win.

"What's your name?" Nudge tentatively speaks. The question isn't directed at anyone in particular, but the woman answers.

"I don't have one." She grins evilly. "Names are another weakness. They give people power." She flips her hair over her shoulders, moving closer to Iggy. "Should I kill this one first?" She's speaking mostly to herself. "Hmmm? What do you think, Thorne?" Her poisonous eyes shift to the boy behind me. I turn my head to look at him.

So his name's Thorne, maybe a play on "Thor"? That would be appropriate. He seems the type to name himself after 'thunder'. I giggle a little and his electric eyes flash to mine. I go silent, my eyes locked with his. The stare is frightening, piercing. I want to wrench my gaze away, but Max taught me better.

"_Who are you?"_ I ask him. I see something like surprise shift across his face, but then it's gone. Lightning cracks overhead, and his gaze returns to the sky.

"_You already know who I am, don't you? You've been reading my mind."_

"_Max told me that was bad, so I didn't." _Well, it's true. I only looked a little bit. I see a smile pull at his lips, but he represses it.

"Wait," he says in answer to the woman. His gaze flashes. She growls and begins to pace.

"I don't take orders from you," she hisses.

"You asked my opinion, and I gave it." She growls again and paces by Nudge, her claws raking against Nudge's skin. Nudge sucks in a breath, and I see Iggy tense.

"_What happened to Nudge?" _his thoughts ask me. There's a tense edge in his mind and an anxiety. I send him calming thoughts.

"_She's fine. What are we going to do?"_

"_I don't know."_ Despair is trying to overtake us. I glare at the emotion-amplifying figure, outlined by the fire. I can't tell if he/she saw me.

The sky above breaks with light, and a chill flits over my skin. Something is changing. Somewhere in the world the storm is winning. A gasp catches in my throat.

"_Stop! Just stop! If you kill them, you'll be a monster! You're not a monster yet. Do you want to be like her?" _I gesture to the evil lady with my head. _"Please, please, just stop it. Stop the storm. I know you can. Don't be a monster. Don't be one of them." _

"_I already am…a monster, that is. We can't change what we are, and we're all monsters. What's one monster's life for another's? We're all the same."_

"_That's not true and you know it. If you were a monster, we'd already be dead. No one can say Max is a monster." _I try to flood him with good visions of us, of Max and Fang. He doesn't seem to receive them, or maybe he doesn't care.

"_Please, you don't have to do this. There's always a choice."_ It strikes me then thatI learned that from Jeb. _"A…bad person taught me that. But…he wasn't...bad then. Everyone can change. This could be your moment. Please."_

Thorne doesn't respond. His mind holds the same resolve. I consider using the Bambi eyes, but I don't think it will work this time. I grab Nudge's hand and squeeze it. This is it.

Maybe an angel can't teach a demon to fly.

* * *

_By the way, did you guys know "Zephyr" means "west wind"? lololol. XD_


	16. Lightningless Skies

_I'm sorry about the wait! I just got stuck. Also, what's with the serious lack of love? I mean, I tried not asking desperately for reviews, but it didn't work, so PLEASE! I'll give you a cookie, or bacon, or a bacon-cookie…_

_By the way, someone's been attacking my older poems on Teen Ink by rating them one star. I know they aren't great, but they aren't _that_ bad, two stars at least ;). Plus, what's the point? Sometimes people suck. Why can't they rate my good stuff? Ha. Just thought I'd complain to people who don't care._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 15_

_Lightning-less Skies_

* * *

_Previously:_

_And just like a train wreck, I bet you can't look away. You have to know if we're dead. I wish I knew the answer, but all I know is pain._

_***_

_Thorne doesn't respond. His mind holds the same resolve. I consider using the Bambi eyes, but I don't think it will work this time. I grab Nudge's hand and squeeze it. This is it._

_Maybe an angel can't teach a demon to fly._

* * *

NPOV

Angel squeezes my hand; I squeeze back. I really don't want to die right now next to a dimming fire and under a stormy sky, except…the sky is clearing. I gasp a little as the purple clouds recede slowly to reveal a violet sky. I know what it means. That storm had an evil purpose which it has fulfilled. Max and Fang are dead, or one of them is dead and the other will be soon, or they're both dying slowly as I stand here doing nothing.

"_Angel, look up."_ I see her head shift slightly, and then her body tenses. _"This is bad."_

"_Yeah, it is," _she agrees.

I think I see remorse in Thorne's eyes, but it might be wishful thinking. He seems so alone and sad. I wish I could save him, but I think Angel's already tried. He's lost.

What are we doing? We're the Flock, yet we're standing here helplessly. I can feel the emotion-amplifier's powers working on me, but I try to block it out the same way I've tried to block out Angel. It never works with Angel, but it seems to work a little here. It's easier to focus and to think.

I glance at Iggy's backpack across the fire. There has to be something metal in there, some cooking utensil or another. I focus on it, summoning something toward me. I see Angel grin a little out of the corner of my eye.

Thorne's getting ready to dispose of us, I'm sure. I don't have that much time. Then I feel the tension ease; something comes shooting out of Iggy's bag. It looks like just a metal pole. What the heck?

"_Iggy says you roast stuff on it."_

"_Where'd he get it?" S_he shrugs. Whatever. It isn't really important now. I think about pulling it through the fire and then hoping I can throw it at one of them, but I know I don't have the time or the control.

Thorne's lightning shoots toward us, and my mind momentarily goes blank. Iggy darts forward, grabbing the pole thing and jamming it into the ground in front of us. I watch in shock as he scrambles backward. Angel and I grab his arms and yank him backward. I wish fearfully on a star above as the lightning whips forward.

It hits the pole. Iggy made a lightning rod. I see Thorne's shock, but we're already scrambling away in the confusion. The woman howls in outrage. Thorne stands perfectly still in surprise. I don't bother to ask Angel what he's thinking. The emotion-amplifier is nowhere to be seen. All of this I note as I race backward, snagging Iggy's and my bag as I dart off and up into the air.

Angel's right behind me, her bag slung over her shoulder. I search frantically for Iggy, and finally spot him handing something to Gazzy and grabbing the rest of the bags as he leaps into the air. Gazzy chucks the something into the flames and books it away from there. The campsite erupts into flame, and for a second, I'm blinded by the light. Then I see my boys as they soar out of the smoke.

I spare a thought for Thorne as we race away into the night. He seemed so lost. I wish I had the ability to help him, but I really hope we don't meet again.

* * *

MPOV

I'm jolted into consciousness violently, gasping in a great breath of air. My body feels like it's been hit by a train, and I have no idea how long I've been unconscious. The sky is dark, but not with clouds, looks like the storm has cleared. I sit up with a groan that racks my body with agony. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, I've felt worse, so I'm able to withstand it and figure out what's going on.

Taking in my surroundings is more difficult than it should be; my head's still a little fuzzy. Eventually, a frightening realization hits me: where is Fang? I rush to stand but can only make it to my knees. Turning slowly in a circle, I search the desert terrain for a sign of my dark bird-boy. Images flash in my head of a crumpled and broken Fang. I shudder inwardly, but don't make the mistake of physically doing so, knowing it will only cause more pain.

Finally, I spot him. He's actually only a few feet away, but the shadows of some huge pointed rock shaded him from my sight. I gasp involuntarily when I realize his state. Firstly, he's unconscious still which means he must've been hurt more badly than I was. I vaguely recall him shielding me from the fall. I frown; I'll have to kill him for that later. However, a slight smile is tugging at my lips because I was pretty sweet. Even I can't deny it.

I focus on the situation and drag myself over to Fang, praying the whole way that he's alive. If Fang dies…There isn't really a way to end that sentence. My mind can't imagine a future without him in it. I've been there before, and I don't want to go back.

"Fang?" I manage to force my voice passed my dry and cracked lips. Geez, how long _have_ I been here? I sound like I haven't spoken in days. My body feels dehydrated under all the pain, but there's no way to know how long we lay there in the stark and lonely desert, long enough for the storm to pass, but not long enough for the Flock to come looking for us. Maybe they _are_ looking for us, but we've been blown so far out of the way that they haven't gotten this far or maybe they're too angry to bother.

"Fang?" He lies on his side, body crumpled up, and wings half extended. I can see a path of blood scraped down the side of the rock above my head. I push the hair out of his face. There's sand in it, sticking to the strands with bloody glue. I choke off a sob, and move his head into my lap, using some of my precious strength to turn him, angling his body so that his shredded wings are as un-crushed as possible.

Whispering a prayer under my breath, I place my fingers on his pulse. _Please, please, please. _I have to stop my chanting to feel desperately for a beat. My fingers feel nothing, but I hope it's just because they're numb with desert cold or broken or something. I try using my other hand. _Come on, Fang._

I think I feel something, but my hands are shaking too much at this point to be sure. I lean over and listen for a breath or heart beat on his chest. I hear nothing, feel nothing. He's so cold. I tear trickles out onto his chest and sits there, glistening in the moonlight. What do I do if he never wakes up? It's highly unlikely that I can even get myself out of here. At some point, I'm going to have to take stock of my own injuries. I know they'll be horrible, probably too bad to get back to the Flock, probably too terrible to survive.

I sit there, hunched over with my head on Fang's chest in the desert sand for a long time, thinking, sleeping. It's difficult to stay focused with all the pain and sorrow. I'm not sure what to do, what to think. Everything seems like one dark blur. The future looks shadowy and almost nonexistent, and I worry about the Flock. They've been alone for who knows how long. They probably think I've abandoned them.

It grows steadily colder in the desert. I know that I can't sit here forever, but there's nothing to drink and nothing to eat, nothing to make a fire with. I'm so helpless.

"Fang, wake up. You've got to tell me what to do." I laugh a little as I say it. It's not like I've ever listened to Fang before. I'm the leader; I'm supposed to think up a plan, but my body's so weak and my minds so hazy. I look up at the stars pleadingly.

"Help?"

* * *

_I have no idea if a lightning rod/metal pole thingy would work like that, but let's just say it can. It was really all I could think of. Review, please._


	17. Fang

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 16_

_Fang_

* * *

FPOV

A heartbeat.

A heartbeat in the darkness.

Only one heart beat.

I hope it's hers.


	18. We're All A Little Lost

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 17_

_We're All A Little Lost_

* * *

_Previously:_

_I spare a thought for Thorne as we race away into the night. He seemed so lost. I wish I had the ability to help him, but I really hope we don't meet again._

_***_

_I'm the leader; I'm supposed to think up a plan, but my body's so weak and my minds so hazy. I look up at the stars pleadingly._

"_Help?"_

_***_

_Only one heart beat._

_I hope it's hers._

* * *

FPOV

_Everything is dark. And then everything is light, white, burning into my eyes. I snap my eyelids closed and then hesitantly, slowly open them. Where am I?_

_I wish I didn't know the answer, but I do._

_The School._

_I'm small and alone, in a cage. This place is hauntingly familiar, eerily quiet. I glance to my right, to my left. No Iggy or Max. _

_My fingers rake at the hard bars of my cage. Panic overwhelms me. I keep scratching, pushing, trying to escape until my fingers bleed. I welcome the red liquid, some color, some life in this dead place._

_And now I'm forgetting reality. This _is_ reality._

_I'm a kid in The School. I've never flown, never been outside, never escaped._

_Where is Max? She's the leader. I'm just a little silent kid._

_Never fought, never ran, never been in the E-shaped house._

_Who is Max? I don't remember anymore. What are these wings on my back? Who am I?_

_All I know is this cage._

_I am an experiment. I run. When the bars fall away, I run, searching. I don't know what I'm searching for. And they always catch me, bring me back._

_I feel loss, but I don't know what I'm missing. When I close my eyes, I see snatches of blonde hair, brown eyes. I hear a voice, but I don't comprehend it. Sometimes I see a storm and then I'm falling, but I always hit the hard metal ground of a cage._

_I am a bird. I am a boy. All I know are bars, white walls._

_All I know is fear._

MPOV

There is no answer in the sky. The stars are silent and empty, ghostly in their flickering judgment. My vision clouds over, whether with exhaustion or tears I cannot say. Hanging my head in despair, I try desperately to find a way out. If I was alone, I'd just start walking. However, Fang hasn't moved and I don't think he'll be going anywhere soon.

It's my moment to be great, to rise up for love or for life or for destiny, desperation, fear, courage, or just to make it end. I have to do something. Every fiber in me vibrates with the knowledge that I should do something, but I can't. And maybe that's why I want to.

I hear a noise, a faint sound in the silence of the desert. Fang's mouth moves. He's alive. My heart thunders and films over with warmly painful clouds of love. Relief is instant and is just as quickly suppressed.

He may be alive but he's in bad shape. His eyes haven't opened, but I can see his irises moving back and forth like in REM sleep. His lips move slowly, but they do not form words. His heart pulses sluggishly and his breaths are labored and shallow.

"Don't die on me," I whisper. He needs water and food, medical attention. And then I have a hideous revelation. Fang's not even here with me. His body is present, every ripped and shattered piece of it, but his mind is elsewhere. I can tell by the way his muscles try to tense and his eyebrows knit together, the way his breaths are full of some great and powerful emotion, the way his heart beat races. It is not only damage that has his body careening out of control, but also his dreams.

I stroke his hair out of his face. I don't know when he slipped away from me. It must have been when I was out of it. He was with me for a moment. Sometime back in that hazy post-storm near death time he was there. And now he's where I can't reach him. And I know what he dreams about. Cages and Whitecoats. Needles and knives. The School. It's where we all go back to. And now he's there in his mind, and I can't save him. I can't do anything. I'm not a doctor, but I know this is bad. His body's dying and his mind is shutting me out, shutting the world out.

What do I do now? I don't have a magically appearing Jeb to save him, no Flock to support us. There's nothing, not even creepy Omega.

Sand sticks to our bloody wounds, and my skin erupts in chills. It's getting cold. We're stuck, trapped.

I'm out of plans.

NPOV _(I really hate writing in Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, or Iggy POV)_

We're off to find Max and Fang. None of us can bear to think about them being dead. Angel's sure that they're waiting for us somewhere, and I'm clinging to hope.

Iggy and Gazzy blab on and on about wind calculations and storms and what not, but my mind can't focus on anything but the tragic destruction of everything safe and stable that we had going for us. We've lost Max and Fang. People are hunting us again. We don't know what to do or where to go.

I blindly follow as Gazzy and Iggy try to figure out where Max and Fang would have ended up. We're assuming that they got swept up in the storm. They would have been back by now if they hadn't. At least, I hope so.

But there's always that unspoken possibility, that fearful, frightening worry. What do we do without them? What if we never find them?

I'm afraid.

Thorne POV

I leap away from the exploding flames, watching the birdkids take flight. We've lost them, and I'm glad. I didn't really want to kill them, especially the pretty dark-eyed girl. The way she looked at me…it made me feel ashamed. I've done terrible things, and I never feel bad about it. I can't. I have to be emotionless and empty. It's the only way to survive in this world.

I hear _her_ scream. It's shrill and snake-like, as is everything about her. I'm suddenly sickened with the idea of continuing under her command, but maybe this is the perfect opportunity.

I slip away from the raging flames. My foot connects with something soft as I reach the edge of the camp. It's a small, somewhat charred bear. This has to belong to one of the Flock. I tuck it into my pocket and keep walking, feeling the explosion's heat on my back. I hope it can burn away my past.

But I doubt it.

* * *

_Review?_


	19. Finding Unconscious

_Quicker update than normal! Woot! I thought I'd celebrate completing my SATs. Also, I got a good amount of reviews, not nearly as many as The Impossible, but I've stopped hoping for that._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 18_

_Finding Unconscious_

* * *

_Previously:_

_And now I'm forgetting reality. This _is_ reality._

_***_

_Sand sticks to our bloody wounds and my skin erupts in chills. It's getting cold. We're stuck, trapped._

_I'm out of plans._

_***_

_What if we never find them?_

_I'm afraid._

* * *

FPOV

_I live in The School, in a body where my mind doesn't quite seem to fit. I am silent. I am alone, so it's not as if I have anyone to talk to._

_I know there should be others here, but there are not. Maybe I dreamed them up._

_There are experiments and scientists. I hate them, and I fear them._

_I am a freak. There is no one else like me. _

_My wings are useless. I cannot fly from this trap._

_I do not have a name or a family. I do not have a past._

_The experiments are frighteningly familiar, as if repeated from a faraway past, but I am not old enough to have a faraway path._

_Whenever I start to fall asleep, my mind wanders. It leaves the white halls and bars and goes outside, into the sky. I do not know how I know what it looks like out there._

_Whenever sleep starts to take me, I think the same thing. _Where is Max?

_I do not know who Max is._

_But I miss her._

MPOV

I lose track of the hours I wait. I know I'm starting to flounder; my condition was only marginally better than Fang's to begin with. Sometimes I lose consciousness, so I don't know if we've been here for hours or days.

***

I'm thirsty and my body is out of control with the rocketing and plummeting desert weather. It is difficult to lift me head, difficult to think. Every clear thought is filled with worry.

***

The Flock has to be close, but I can't even stay conscious long enough to think that thought out. Darkness is always by my side, reaching out to place its shady hand on my shoulder and pull me down.

***

It's rare that I come to consciousness anymore. Everything is hazy and confused. My thoughts are broken, and it is a struggle to move at all. There is pain, but even that is blocked out by weakness. I am losing hope.

***

The sky, shadow. Faces, words. Broken and mumbled. Who? Familiar. Movement. Help him. Not me. No, not me. Pain. Shifting. Prodding. Bad memories meshing. Reality? Broken. Words, fear. Not me. No sound. Darkness. Pain. Red. Sand. Scream, silence. Sky. Falling, flying. Where? Disorientation. Pain. Loss. Helpless. Darkness.

***

* * *

_Super short, but I just tried writing the next part and it doesn't flow right. I like suspense too much. Review and I might update before the end of this weekend. It's up to you._


	20. Friend Until Proven Foe

_Semi-fast update! We didn't do so well on the reviews last chapter, but we made it over 5000 hits. Yay!_

_I finished FANG. I won't say anything since some of you probably haven't read it yet. If you want to talk about it or rant or whatever, I'm game. I have some rather awesome theories about what might happen next, if I do say so myself. I might even have to write a fic. about it. Who knows?_

_By the way, in the real series the characters have morphed a lot in the last few books. I'm sticking with my characters as they were when they started writing. They aren't OOC for how they were then, and I'm keeping them that way._

_I don't own MR._

_Chapter 19_

_Friend Until Proven Foe_

* * *

_Previously:_

_I do not know who Max is._

_But I miss her._

_***_

_Darkness is always by my side, reaching out to place its shady hand on my shoulder and pull me down._

_***_

_I blindly follow as Gazzy and Iggy try to figure out where Max and Fang would have ended up…What if we never find them?_

_***_

…_feeling the explosion's heat on my back…I hope it can burn away my past._

_But I doubt it._

* * *

Iggy POV_(How I hate alternate POVs)_

We found them. Caked in blood and sand and the scent of death. I've never felt such extensive injuries. It frightens me, but I don't tell the kids that.

Where to take them? I have no idea where the nearest hospital is; we're in the middle of the desert, and I doubt another vet is going to come falling out of the sky.

I hate being the leader. I've never had to be responsible for Max or Fang before. They always took care of themselves. Now it's all riding on me.

What an impossible situation. What stupid, improbable odds. The odds, once on our sides, have turned. Statistics are fickle friends and stubborn foes.

I bow my head for a second, so the others won't know what I'm thinking. Every second is time wasted. Max's pulse gets weaker. Fang's breathing gets shallower. The sun beats down on us, and I stand.

"You have a plan?" Nudge asks. Her voice is hoarse and shallow. We're all tired and thirsty; we've been flying for two days straight. I don't know how Max and Fang even survived that long in their state.

"Yeah," I lie.

? POV

"Incoming, boss."

"Who?" I turn my eyes into the glare of the sun, using my hand as a visor to shield from the light.

"You won't see him yet; he's too far away." There's a strange note in his voice. My heart picks up a beat, and I turn to look at the man who stands in the shadows, trying to see inside his mind with my gaze, to seek out the answers.

"Do I know him?" I hope my voice didn't sound a little breathy, but I think it did.

"No."I turn away again, letting the dying sunlight wash over my skin.

"You haven't answered my first question." My words hold a bite. "Who is it? What are you hiding from me?"

"His name is Thorne." My mouth forms a silent "Oh" of pensive acknowledgement.

"So he's a foe then." I clench my hands into fists on the stone ledge. We are not ready to fight, not yet.

"I…don't know." Now I turn to him with my whole body.

"How can you not know?"

"I just…don't."

"Perhaps _he_ doesn't know."

"I'm pretty sure that he doesn't know where he's heading, but he'll find us and he'll need our help."

"He's injured?"

"In more ways than one."

"When he arrives, alert me and treat his injuries as best you can. Show him hospitality. Friend until proven foe."

"Okay, boss." I smile a little for the first time this evening.

"Good job, kid." He rolls his eyes as he leaves.

"Yeah, whatever." His tone is so like a perfectly normal teenager that I can't help but laugh a little into the now dark sky. I hear his answering laugh echoing down the hall. I let out a breath that I don't remember holding. I think we'll be all right.

Thorne POV

For the first time in my life, I'm traveling blind. There's no predetermined path or destination, and it feels sort of good. I turn the winged bear over and over in my good palm as I walk. The other palm is burnt black from the explosion. Guess I didn't move away from the flames fast enough. Small price to pay for the severing of my ties to _her_ and to _them_. At least, I hope they're good and severed.

It's a strange feeling, to be alone. It's what I've always wanted, always craved, but the silence is…pressing. I didn't know emptiness could be like that.

It's the silence that keeps me going, walking without pause to an unknown destination.

When I close my eyes, even for a moment, I see the terrible things. My darkness is lit up with lightning that illuminates things I know longer wish to see, things I don't want to feel, things I never felt before. That's why I don't rest. There are demons in my sleep, and I'm trying to outrun them.

I'm letting my instincts guide me, letting nature fuel me forward, but it still takes me three days to make it where I was headed all along. In all my years of searching, wandering, being lonely but not alone, I never knew it would be this easy to find. Because where I was headed, apparently, was Home.

* * *

_Okay, okay short again. I really didn't intend for that to happen, I swear. I don't know where this chapter came from. I can't believe there's no Max or Fang POV in there, but unless you want me to do a "*Blank* Days Later" thing (which I hate), it had to be this way. Sorry. You can tell me how much you hate me in a review, I won't be offended. _

_Also, talk to me about FANG. I love obsessing about newly released books._

_Next Chapter WILL be Max and Fang. Hopefully. _

_Please, please, please review. I crave reviews. I gave up sweets for Lent, so I'm in chocolate withdrawal, be nice and enable my addiction to reviews._

_By the way, if you're still reading, I have a little…well, not 'treat' exactly…more like a fact for you: I'm probably going to kill at least one main character before the end of the story. If you'd like any say in that, you have to review. I'm hoping you won't kill me over this. That would not be cool._

_Review!_


	21. Welcome Home

_I don't own MR._

_Chapter 20_

_Welcome Home_

* * *

_Previously: _(I cannot wait until I only have to quote one or two POVs each time. This is ridiculous.)

_"You have a plan?"…_

_"Yeah," I lie._

_***_

_"Incoming, boss."…_

_"When he arrives, alert me and treat his injuries as best you can. Show him hospitality. Friend until proven foe."_

_***_

…_where I was headed, apparently, was Home._

_***_

_I do not know who Max is._

_But I miss her._

_***_

_There is pain, but even that is blocked out by weakness. I am losing hope…__Darkness is always by my side, reaching out to place its shady hand on my shoulder and pull me down._

* * *

MPOV _(Yay! Finally.)_

My eyes open blearily, vision filling up with a chocolate brown ceiling. It's rock, smooth and yet bumpy. Am I in a cave? Why is it that I'm always waking up from near death experiences in random, unidentifiable places?

I force myself into a half-sitting position, taking inventory of the room, although 'room' is not really the correct term for where I find myself.

There are rather modern looking medical supplies, and another cot like mine to my right. It's very hospital-like. The modern appliances feel out of place in this cave-lie place.

The whole space is like some kind of cavern. It is dimly lit by light streaming in from a very small opening somewhere up the high, curved walls. I can't see where the walls peak together in a ceiling because it is in shadow. What I had earlier mistaken as the ceiling is just the curving walls.

The room is very narrow, extending to my right in a shallow curve. The whole of the structure is made up of red-brown stone that appears somewhat naturally formed.

Around me there are slumped forms that I think are my Flock. A smile touches my lips.

"Iggy," I whisper-shout. "Iggy." He stirs in his chair that sits in the corner of the room in front of me and to the right, near an archway that appears to lead into another room. Next to him sits Nudge, leaning partially against the chair and partially against the wall. Her lips are open and I can hear her deep breathing from here.

Angel is laying on Nudges legs, her feet sticking out through the arch in front of me. Through it, I can just make out a walkway that runs parallel to this room. I can't see what's beyond the walkway, perhaps a drop-off. Angel's feet stick out onto the walkway, into the shadows. Gazzy is slumped across the other cot in the other corner created by the dividing arch-wall and the wall that my headboard is against.

But where is Fang?

"Iggy," I whisper-shout a bit louder.

"Ungh," he grunts, but finally seems to be awake. "Max?" He slips over to kneel next to my bed.

"Where's Fang?" My voice is slightly hysterical.

"I have to get the nurse," he murmurs sleepily, running a hand through his hair which causes it to stick up all over the place.

"Iggy, wait!" But he's already disappeared through the arch on the right.

A few minutes later a girl hurries in. She has white-blonde hair that's pulled back into a pony tail. When she looks at me, I feel pierced right through by her grey-blue eyes. She doesn't look like any doctor I've ever seen, but I guess that's a good thing.

Iggy hovers nervously in the corner. As this doctor-girl checks me out, I continue with my unsuccessful attempts to get someone to answer a question, but everyone seems to be in a state of exhausted excitement, except, of course, for my Flock who all appear to be deep in slumber. I doubt even an earthquake could wake them right now. They must've had a hard time of it.

"I pronounce you officially better. Best take it easy though, " she smiles. "I'll get Mira. She'll tell you everything." And then she's gone.

"Iggy, I swear I will get out of this bed and strangle you myself if you don't tell me-"

"He's in another room. You can go see him once Mira says it's okay." I continue to glare at him. "He's alive," Iggy hurriedly adds. I let out a sigh of relief.

"How bad is he?"

"Bad. We all thought…He hasn't woken up yet." I feel chills curl up my spine. I can't lose him.

"Why is he in another room? And who's Mira?"

"Mira's in charge around here. She'll explain everything."

"Um, Ig? Where exactly is 'here'?"

"Home," he grins. I have a momentary flashback to my little chat with Omega. I guess we found his little sanctuary after all.

"So will you at least tell me how you found us?" Iggy sighs, and sits on the end of my cot. I sit up to listen.

"When you two disappeared into nowhere this crazy snake-lady showed up."

"Snake lady?"

"It's hard to explain, okay? If you ever meet her, and I hope you don't, you'll get it. Anyway, she had with her this guy who was controlling the storm and some kid who amplified our emotions-That's why I blew up at you, and Fang blew up at me. Oh, guess you don't know about that." Iggy continues on to explain what happened before Fang flew off, and then about their confrontation with the snake lady.

"After that, we flew for ages, thought we'd never find you. And when we did…you were bad. We carried you around, trying to find a hospital or something, but we were in the middle of the freaking desert.

Then Gazzy says that something's heading at us in the sky. Of course, I freaked out. How were we going to fight someone off while carrying the two of you? But it was just Gryffin and Hawthorne-you'll probably meet them soon enough. Anyway, Angel read their minds and said they were cool, so we let them bring us back here. Just wait until you see this place; it's incredible."

While I was taking all that in, a tall, familiar-looking girl came hurrying in through the archway in front of me.

"Hey, Mira," Iggy grinned at her. She smiled at him distractedly, flicking her straight brown hair over her shoulder, but quickly turned to me.

"It's so good to see you awake." Looking into her dark eyes, I get this weird sense of de ja vu.

"Um, thanks. "

"I guess you're pretty confused."

"You could say that."

"I'll explain everything, promise. Wyn tells me you're healthy enough to take a tour, so how about I show you around while I explain?" I practically leap out of bed. It feels like I've been lying there forever, and I'm on edge.

"Who's Wyn?"

"The head Med. She's in charge of our hospital wing. I think you just met her. She checked you out when you woke up?"

"Oh yeah." Mira laughs a little.

"Come on." She leads me through the arch near where Iggy was sleeping.

"We'll be here when you get back," he laughs, seeing my hesitation. I follow Mira through the arch. It turns out that this archway leads to another room just like mine. The hospital wing is made up of a chain of these little rooms that lead to another big room where all the Meds are hanging out. Mira doesn't bother to introduce me to them. I'm beginning to notice that she's one of those quiet people, kind of like Fang. Her 'quiet' seems calmer though, settled, comfortable.

As we leave the hospital wing, we walk out onto a walkway. In front of me, there are stairs smoothly cut into the brown stone. They curl around the stone wall, so I can't see where they go.

"Those lead to my room," Mira tells me. We turn left, and I'm wondering when Mira's going to start explaining but then my train of thought is cut off as I realize what I'm seeing.

We're at the end of a ginormous cave. It's like an entire city. We're at middle height in the basin. A walkway runs to my left about three quarters of the way to the other side. The wall at the other end has a huge crack from top to bottom that serves as another door.

At our end, there's only a smallish opening in the middle of the huge cavern wall that makes up one end of the cavern. The hole's about the size of a small house and appears to be an entrance. A couple of people fly through the hole and land on a stone platform in the middle of the basin. The landing pad is a rock platform that thins as it reaches down to the ground level. It sits in the very center of the cave on a level slightly below mine.

"That's Gryffin and Hawthorne," Mira says, pointing at the two flyers. For second, I'm stuck on the shock of seeing other flying people, but I recover.

"Who are Gryffin and Hawthorne? Iggy mentioned them to me."

"They're sort of the second in command, I guess. Gryffin usually runs search parties and supply missions. Hawthorne generally runs defense and training and those types of things." The two figures are hard to make out from here, and I'm hoping I'll get to meet them in person.

"Wait a second. How many flying people are there a round here?" Mira laughs.

"Not counting your Flock or Gryffin and Hawthorne, there's me and my Flock, Omega and Max 2 and that's about it."

"You have wings? You have a Flock?" I'm beginning to feel really slow, like these are things I should already know.

She laughs, turning to face me in the darkness of this level.

"You really don't remember me, do you? I'm the girl you rescued from the Institute." I'm speechless.

"What-How?"

"After you saved me, I didn't know what to do. I had my Flock; myself, Binx, Pepper, and Rider.-You can meet them later-But I was still pretty much alone. Eventually, I found the twins-Gryffin and Hawthorne. Then we found this place; it was only a little cave back then. But Pepper has the ability to shift rock, so we hollowed it out bit by bit as we needed it.

Then Max 2 and Omega showed. They came up with the idea for this place, but neither of them wanted the responsibility. They're sort of wanderers. Anyway, we started rescuing people. Our techs are really good at finding mutants that need our help."

"Those are our tech rooms," Mira explains, pointing to two rooms at the very top of the cave that seem to grow down from the ceiling. Through windows cut in the wall I can see blinking computer lights. There is one on each side of the wall opposite me. "Faris is our head tech. I can take you to meet him when you want."

"Um, techs?" I manage to form a semi-coherent statement.

"They do research and run the utilities or this place. They help me organize people and missions and things."

"Oh. Um, continue," I prompt her, wanting to hear the rest of the story.

"Pretty soon, we had a whole city of mutants right here below ground.

We're in a canyon by the way. That crevice door leads out to a thin fault in a canyon that we can slip through because we can fly or have other special powers; no one could climb it. The other opening is our flight opening. It opens out onto a wider canyon, but it's almost invisible from the outside."

"And those are living quarters." She points to each corner under the tech rooms. There appears to be towers connected to the corners made of levels of walkways that are edged with columns that form arches. The levels sort of remind me of the way the Coliseum in Rome is supposed to look, with the rock arches. The living quarters extend from the ground level far below me almost all the way up to the tech rooms but not quite. They almost touch in the center of the room, but there is a small empty space between the two, perhaps a wing span across.

We start to walk along the walkway that runs next to the hospital wing. I glance in at the Flock as we pass my room.

When our walkway is beginning to curve to merge with the wall, we turn right onto a bridge-like walkway. It connects to another platform that stretches out in an oval shape toward each of the openings in the cave. The two bridge-like walkways extend from the other sides of the oval to the sides of the cave. One reaches the very end of the hospital wing walkways and the other reaches the living quarter tower closest to the crevice door.

There is also a walkway that curves down to ground level from this platform to the crevice door. The platform is topped by a huge arch that reaches almost all the way to the ceiling and is parallel with the crevice door. People scurry this all around us, nodding greetings to Mira and openly staring at me.

"This big arch platform is sort of the hub of everything around here. The landing pad is just extra space."

"Like you need more space, "I snort.

We turn right down the walkway that heads toward the crevice door. From ground level, this place seems even bigger. I'm so astounded by this huge city of a place that I hardly listen to what she's telling me. From this level, I can see that the ground ends at the empty space between the two towers, dropping off into another level.

I turn around before descending to see the whole cave from down here. I notice that the hospital wing isn't a tower structure tucked in the corner like the living quarters; it's more just a few levels of walkways curving out of the wall. None of the levels of the wing are connected to the ground or ceiling, but I can see that Mira's stairs disappear into the wall, so I guess her room is its own special cave.

Mira and I drop down, using our wings to slow our fall. I find myself standing in front of a very large tank.

This whole floor is under the ground level, and the tank is under one of the living columns, the one closest to the crevice door. It's like in an aquarium, except the edges are made of stone where in an aquarium they would be made of some man-made material. There's another difference: when I look through the glass, there aren't fish. There are mutants, fish people. They wave at me. I wave back.

Mira's already dragging me away.

"We call this the Basement," she grins. And I can see why. The ground level forms the ceiling and effectively blocks out all light. It's very dark. The only light comes from inside the tanks. Wait, there's also another light source.

Under the other living tower there's a small cave-room. It has two large archway-doors that are spilling out flickering light.

"That's Harley's workshop," Mira explains. "Harley's in charge of all machines, vehicles, mechanical stuff, etc." She drags me past it, so I don't get to look inside. I can't help but wonder what kind of trouble Gazzy and Iggy will get into if they find their way down here.

We walk on, around a large pillar that I can only assume is that bottom of the arch platform. Mira falls silent as we approach what I assume is our destination. In the far corner, under the part of the cave that holds the hospital wing and Mira's room, there's a small cave-room that's on an even lower level. It also has two doorways, but it's almost completely dark. I can see a light violet glow from within.

We head inside. As I stand in one of the huge archways, I can see that room is lit by purple stones set in the walls. It contains only a single stone table/platform. And on the table, still as the stone itself, lies Fang.

* * *

I had to fit so much explanation into that! I hope I did a good job. I know my description of Home was probably really confusing so I uploaded a map-type thing for you to look at if you want.

http://i183 **(dot) **photobucket **(dot) **com/albums/x110/vintagerose112/Home **(dot) **jpg

It's really crappy and imperfect, but at least it's something.

Anyway, tell me what you thought. Review.


	22. Weight of War

_I just want everyone to know that Home is totally my original idea. I'm not copying any other author or story. It's all me and my imagination. Any similarities are purely coincidental._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

_Chapter 21_

_Weight of War_

* * *

_Previously:_

_And on the table, still as the stone itself, lies Fang._

* * *

_MPOV_

My breathing catches, all thoughts pushed into oblivion, my entire being focused around the still figure of my best friend.

_Fang, _I think. I can't even whisper the name because my body is frozen.

I stumble forward, tripping over my own feet and crumpling to kneel beside the stone slab that Fang lies on. I reach up to grab his hand checking feverously for a pulse. My own heart beat thunders so loudly that it threatens to block out the dim beating of Fang's pulse beneath my fingertips.

But there, there it is, a faint, quiet beating. It's inconsistent and fragile. _What did you do to yourself?_

With my raptor vision I can make out all the innumerable injuries marring his skin, each and every one illuminated in lilac light.

I feel Mira walk up behind me and place a hand on my shoulder.

"What's he doing down here?" I manage to form the question, but my voice is emotionless. I'm forcing myself into leader mode, feeling the pain is too much. He has to live. I need him to live.

"This is our healing chamber," Mira explains softly. I can hear the sorrow in her voice. "It's run by a very talented healer. We only use it for…special cases."

"What happened?"

"When you got here, Fang was…bad, far worse than you. It looks like he took most of the damage, but it was worse than that. His mind is…hiding. I can't explain it right. Anyway, this healer can…channel energy like some crystals can. He's trying to use those powers to heal Fang. We can't tell if it's working yet. I'm sorry."

I let out a long breath, trying to collect myself. I know that tone of voice; it means this is a long shot. It means I should prepare myself. It bothers me, fans a flame of anger that I use to push away the fear. I want to turn around and scream at her, at everyone. I want to explode, to attack because there's nothing I can do. I'm helpless, useless. This is my fault, yet I can't fix it.

I clench my fists, my muscles tensing with anger and helplessness. By the time I spring to my feet, Mira's backed away. I run a hand through my hair, breathing heavily. She watches me with wide eyes, and I realize something. She's waiting for something. It's not just fear or worry in her eyes. This whole time, she's been waiting and watching. It's unnerving and it distracts me from my emotions.

I see Mira relax a little. She's assured that I'm not going to go insane, that I'm still on the right path, that I'm in control, that I'm me. She's seen whatever it is she needed to see to know that I'm me, that she can keep on waiting for me to do something. It makes me angrier.

"What?" I spit. "What are you waiting for?" Her eyes shift with emotion again. "Look, I'm not insane. I don't let things break me," I say, a partial lie. "I'm Maximum Ride. That's all I know. I don't know who you think I am or what you're expecting, so why don't you just tell me." She looks at me for a long moment.

"I thought Omega told you," she murmurs. I turn around, resting my hands on the edge of the slab to hold my wait, and hang my head for a second. Then I look at her again.

"You thought he told me what?" My voice holds a bite that I regret because she flinches a bit.

"This," she gestures at Fang, "is your war, Max. We're at war, or we're headed toward it, and you're leading the charge. I thought he told you that we were all behind you, that we're fighting for you."

"I-he did, but I thought he was crazy." Mira laughs and I can see she's worried. She's probably thinking that I'm not cut out for this. I know the feeling, I think that all the time. "I can't fight a war. I can't even save my Flock."

"You don't have a choice, Maximum. You have to save the world." Where have I heard that before?

"I can't! I have no idea what I'm doing. Look around you! I nearly got us all killed. Everything I try goes wrong. You may have an army, but I'm no general. You know more about what's going on than I do!"

"We'll help you. That's why we're all here."

"I can't."

"Max, listen to me. This war is going to happen whether you help us or not. You're going to have to save the world whether you want to or not. You may have messed up this time, but now you have us." I close my eyes tight, wishing this was just a bad dream that I could wake up from and find myself back at home in the E-shaped house, wishing Fang was awake to tell me what to do.

"Come with me," Mira finally says. I glance at Fang, lying on that stupid slab. He could die from my mistakes. My heart squeezes with guilt. I look at Mira, expecting me to follow her, to guide them, to save them. I look back at Fang. Fang would tell me to go. We've both thought about backing down before, about disappearing, but the time for tropical island vacations has passed. If this is a war, I don't really have a choice. I'm not going to let anyone hurt my Flock, and if Fang dies, I'm going to get my revenge. So I go with her.

* * *

We end up in her room. It's just another cave-room with almost nothing in it, but it does have a window which makes me feel less claustrophobic. I also snagged Iggy along the way, and he leans good-naturedly against the wall, though a bit confused.

"There's a member of my Flock," Mira begins, "His name is Rider. He's my best friend, like a brother to me. When he was six, he started having visions. That's his power; he can see the future. The first vision he ever had was of an avian-hybrid who he told me was named Maximum Ride." I feel a shiver trail down my spine.

"At first, he just saw images of her alone, or with scientists, sometimes with other hybrids. They were always the same, just little clips of events going on. Then, when he was eight, he saw a new vision. In the vision, the girl freed me. We never believed it would happen. It was impossible, we thought, because where was he in this vision? He started having other visions, some about the girl, some about us, some about random things. Then the scientists took him away. I never knew if the visions were real, I didn't really care anymore. I was devastated. Then, the girl saved me, you saved me. I didn't know what it meant. I didn't even really think about it. I was fully focused on finding Rider."

"I found him. I broke into a research facility, busted him out. He wasn't surprised. He told me he saw it coming. I told him that his dreams were real, visions. He told me he already knew that." Mira smiled at this.

"Then he told me he'd only had one other vision since they moved him away from me, the same one over and over. I asked him what it was, but he wouldn't tell me. It took me a long time to get him to tell me."

"What was the vision, Mira," Iggy prompts.

"The blonde girl, set aglow by a background of fire, an avenging angel. It was of a battle, and death. Terrible things." It wasn't Mira that answered, and I turn to see a boy standing in the doorway. He continues, "I saw this war, and I knew that it was the end. That's why I kept seeing it over and over. It determines everything, and it's all centered around you, Maximum.

"I've had other visions since then, of course. I learned to control my powers, but that's the only one that keeps reappearing insistently. I don't have to search for it; it's just there. And it's always the same. I just see you. I see this battle and I see you and I know that you're the key.

"A while ago, the vision changed. That's never happened before. You weren't there anymore, and everything was dark. The world died, went gray. I think that must've been when you died, for a little bit."

"How do you know about that?" I try not to let myself remember that dark time. A lot has happened since I let myself slip into that impossible place, let myself give up. I'm not that person anymore.

"I told you we have really good techs," Mira grins.

"But then you came back. The vision returned to normal, but it's also different. There's a chance now. You're not just an avenging angel, leading a hopeless revolution. It's still a hideous, unstoppable war, but I can feel hope. We can win, Max. But we need you." I take a deep breath. A hundred thoughts go through my brain. This is what I've been working toward. I just never expected to literally have to fight a war. If they can be brave enough, so can I. I am Maximum Ride. I will not let these people fight my battle for me, without me. Iggy taps my hand for support.

"Fine then," I sigh. "You win."

"Good," Mira says. "Then we can get down to planning. I know you're under a lot of emotional stress-"

"Don't. Don't worry about it. I can handle it."

"Okay," she says. I can see that I've restored my faith in her. Iggy squeezes my shoulder, and I nudge him as we settle down to plan.

* * *

Everything's changed now. I've always had purpose, but now I have direction. I'm planning a war. It's not just my Flock counting on me, but the whole world. I always knew it would come down to this, people have been telling me it was my destiny forever, but I never thought about what it would feel like. It would be a lot easier if I could talk it out with Fang. How can I lead an army without my second in command?

I'm in Fang's room, and I lay my head down on the stone. The weight of everything is on me. I know there's a catch somewhere. There's something I'm not being told, something that will crash everything down around me. My mind is a whirlwind; my wings are weighed down with the weight of the world, the fate of the world.

There's nothing for me to do right now but wait, so I can't help but fall asleep, slipping away from it all, away from duty and fear and worry and destiny, away from everything, clutching Fang's hand as an anchor, and hoping that when I wake up he'll have come back to me.

* * *

_Not the best chapter ever, but I'm trying to move the plot along. Tell me what you think, please. I desperately love reviews._


	23. Returning From Silence

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

* * *

_Chapter22_

_Returning From Silence_

* * *

_Previously:_

"'_That's Gryffin and Hawthorne,' Mira says, pointing at the two flyers. For second, I'm stuck on the shock of seeing other flying people, but I recover."_

"_My wings are weighed down with the weight of the world, the fate of the world…so I can't help but fall asleep…hoping that when I wake up he'll have come back to me."_

"_I do not know who Max is._

_But I miss her."_

* * *

We train. The anxiety and doubt in my body give way to the pounding exhilaration of fighting. The worry and fear are blanketed by exhausted muscles and mind. With physical force I can bring myself back from the dark places I have yet to go.

We plan. Every moment seems to be consumed with preparations. Yet every spare second also seems wasted on something less important than the next thing we have to do. Thoughts are stormy and ark with pain. I could be losing everything even as I plan to save it.

I spar with Hawthorne on the middle platform. His dark looks make me think of Fang. And I'm angry, angry at myself and these people and the world, angry at everyone but Fang. Fang who tried to save me, Fang who never gave up, Fang who's dying.

Hawthorne never complains when I accidently hit him too hard. In fact, he hardly talks at all—a lot like someone else I'm trying very hard not to think about. Sparring with him brings back memories of sparring with Fang, memories I don't want or need at the moment. Memories that I wish would remain quiet and happy, not tainted with fear or, God forbid, loss.

But I refuse to back down. We need to train, to learn, to test each other. We have no idea what we'll be up against. So I spar and I teach. We fight in every conceivable form. We fight until our bodies are numb. Though that cannot numb our hearts. I'm beginning to understand Hawthorne, who I work with most regularly. He's haunted by something, and that makes us a good force.

And then I plan with Mira and Rider in that big conference room. Iggy generally makes himself present as well, acting as Fang's unofficial second. Mira's brilliant at organizing, but she is afraid. Rider's our link to the future, but he is afraid too. Iggy's a genius at war strategy, too reckless maybe, but serious. He understands what we're up against. I feel useless. Sometimes I can't even remember what I'm here for. Because I'm afraid too. I'm not afraid to die. I've done that before. But I'm afraid of losing. There's too much at stake.

Iggy's also become acquainted with Harley. She has all kinds of fire-related objects in her workshop. And power tools. It makes me shiver just thinking about what she has Iggy and Gazzy doing down there. But she's a genius too. I hear that she's quite impressed with my little pyros. And I'm glad their busy. It makes it easier on the,. And on me. It keeps me from scooping them up and running away. They believe in this cause, and so we fight together.

Nudge and Angel are always busy. Nudge runs all over the place, delivering messages and helping things run smoothly. She's also made herself at home in the tech room. I think Faris nearly died with joy when he realized what she could do with a computer. They get along famously. I think Iggy's jealous. I also think Nudge is jealous of Harley. It's kind of cute. But I don't have time for cute.

Even Angel doesn't have time for cute. She's turned into a miniature drill sergeant with the little kids. They were all frightened little orphans but Angel and Pepper are really good with them. They've taught them enough to keep them alive. And that's the goal, really.

I hardly even see my Flock anymore. We've all got our tasks and I can tell they're thriving. I'm the one who's worrying about everything. That's what I do. It's my fault that we're involved in this in the first place. The weight on my shoulders is heavy. But the weight is invisible and my worry is silent. So I go for a fly.

About two seconds after I get out of the cave, Gryffin joins me.

"Hey," he grins, light framing his face and shining through his light hair.

"Did Mira send you to babysit me?" I ask, trying to keep any bitterness out of my voice.

"No," he says too quickly.

"You're a terrible liar." He shrugs. We fly in silence, but I don't think it will last long. Gryffin's not as quiet as his brother. He's more like Iggy, bright and full of words, but more serious, older. I still don't know his story, and I'm afraid to care. But I do care. I can't help it.

I start to circle back. My thoughts have calmed thanks to the open air. My muscles feel free and so does my mind. A smile graces my lips. Gryffin soars up next to me.

"You're a graceful flyer," he says.

"Um, thanks. You're not half bad yourself." Actually, he's way more graceful than me. But then, he's older too. He smiles slightly. It always seems like his thoughts are elsewhere and maybe I judged too quickly when I said he's like Iggy. He's more like me. He covers up worry and silence with words. He's trying to be strong for everyone, for Mira in particular I think.

"You should see Mira," he responds. "It's like she was born in the sky." I recognized that look in his eyes. It makes a rock of jealousy sink in my stomach.

"You're in love with her." It's not a question. I've known it all along. It's good to see something beautiful amidst all of this war.

"Yeah," he sighs.

"Does she know?"

"No one does except Hawthorne. And now you."

"I won't tell, but, um, if you don't mind me asking…why haven't _you_ told her?"

He rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. "I don't know. I thought, well… I thought that Rider—"

"Hardly," I snort. "They're like brother and sister."Although I'm not so sure that's how Rider sees it.

"Yeah, well I'm sure people say the same thing about her and me."

"Maybe," I agree, looking him straight in the eyes. "But wouldn't you like to be the brave one who gets to find out if there's more there? Or would you rather Rider had that honor?" His expression changes. "That's what I thought," I laugh.

We fly in silence for a bit while he digests that. I'm glad he doesn't ask me about how Mira feels. I've done enough meddling. The cave is in sight and he breaks the comfortable silence.

"Why do you care?" It's not a rude question. I think he just seems curious.

"I get what it's like. I don't want you to run out of time."The grin has faded from my face. As I knew would happen, conversation has stolen from me the solace of silence.

"Thanks," he says. I think he sees more than I'm willing to show. He unnerves me.

"No problem," I reply. He soars ahead to go through the opening. "It'd be nice for someone around here to get their happy ending," I add to myself.

Later, after I've bested both Gryffin and Hawthorne in sparring and had a little chat with Iggy about using explosives around small children underground _and_ had a meeting with Mira and Rider, I'm sitting down in the healing room with Fang. The purple stones cast weird light onto us. It's eerie.

I've been assured he's getting marginally better. I'm deathly afraid that 'marginally' won't be enough. But I don't show fear. I'm Maximum Ride. So I just sit with my head resting on the smooth stone, holding Fang's hand. Usually, I tell him everything that's going on, though I know he can't hear me. But today, I don't have the strength.

"Fang, I need you to wake up." Silence, as expected. "Fang," My voice breaks. There's no response. I knew there wouldn't be. But it hurts anyway. I didn't expect to do this alone.

* * *

FPOV

The hours of my life run together. Sometimes I'm in a crate, and the next second I'm flying. Nothing makes sense anymore. Because I know I've never flown, never been outside of this cage. So why do I remember that? Where did that image come from?

I fight the bars in painful silence. I am alone, and I've forgotten how to speak. That was actually the first thing to go. It was never that important anyway. But I haven't forgotten one thing. But it's a thing that frightens me. And sometimes when I'm falling asleep, I remember it all over again.

Someone out there needs me. Someone I love.

But I can't remember love. I can't remember anything or anyone. I've always been here, so how could someone need me? How do I even know there is an 'out there'? Maybe all there is is this cage, these walls and bars.

I turn over and close my eyes, blocking out confusion, praying for unconsciousness. Then I hear it. A voice that I know, but that I've never heard. A voice, like music.

It only says one word. "_Fang,"_ And then it's gone. It's just a word, a word that means nothing. But it does. That voice has to belong to the person who needs me. And now I know something else.

'Fang' is my name.

* * *

_I know it's been forever. I hope you haven't given up on me. I'm still trying with this story for those of you who like it. I'd appreciate reviews. Actual plot movement will happen next chapter. Promise._


	24. Flying The Nest

I don't own Maximum Ride.

* * *

Chapter 23

Flying The Nest

* * *

NudgePOV

From the window of the tech room, this whole big place seems really small. And I feel really huge. But it's really the other way around, isn't it? We're all itsy tiny little flecks of humanity (some with more humanity than others) in this gigantanormous world, sectioning off little pieces of it for ourselves and effectively making the whole thing that much larger.

The tech room is filled with flashing gadgets and metal that hums soothingly. I can proudly say that I understand the purpose of everything in here. Faris says I'm his little prodigy. However, at the moment, I am not progidy-ing. I'm watching, on break.

"Here," a voice says, coming up silently behind me. My muscles tense in old habit, but I force the reaction away. It's just Faris and he's handing me a cup of tea. Faris loves tea for some reason, and he's not even old. He's just weird, but I like that about him. Normality makes me feel out of place. Personally, I hate tea. But Faris adds a lot of sugar and cream and it doesn't taste so nasty. I feel like a Princess sipping tea up so high. For a moment, I pretend as if I'm watching my subjects mill about below.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Faris asks. I giggle.

"Being a princess."

"That's what you always say," he laughs.

"But this time a mean it."

"You always say that too." I laugh with him. Feeling comfortable and happy, I lean back in my chair. Then I nearly fall out of it as a chill like an electric shock races up my arms. I roll the chair to my computer, absolutely certain that something is wrong.

"What is it?" Faris is all business now. He stands behind me with a hand on my chair's back.

"Intruder." Faris curses and I watch the little dot on the radar move closer.

"Alert Mira." Someone scrambles out of the room in a small panic. "Who is it?"

"Give me a minute. I have to hack into this satellite. Frigging firewall…" My mouth babbles on without me until Faris puts a hand on my shoulder. I take a deep breath. "I can't find him." My shoulders slump.

"Get Rider," Faris says to someone else. There's a muffled thud as Rider and Mira come rushing around the corner fast enough to slam into the wall.

"Already here," Rider says. "For God's sake, don't shoot him," he adds as he notices some of the techs preparing for the offensive plan.

"You know him?"

"Well, no. But I saw him coming. He's been walking for three days."

"Why didn't you send someone?"

"We don't know if he's an enemy or not," Rider admits. Faris sighs, rubbing his forehead.

"Do you at least have a name?"

"Thorne." My breath catches.

"I know him," I breathe. All eyes turn toward me.

"What?" Faris looks at me warily.

"He's one of the ones who tried to attack us while Max and Fang were away. He's…well, I'm not sure if he's an enemy or not. He certainly acted like one, but I have this feeling…"

"Well, it doesn't matter at the moment. Because he's arriving here soon either way." I bite my lips, surprised at the surge of excitement that I feel. I pass it off as anxiety. I mean, he did almost kill us.

"Someone should go. There's no sense making an enemy if he isn't one already," Faris says. Mia looks indecisive.

"I'll go." I realize that was my voice.

"Why?" Faris asks me incredulously.

"I don't know, actually. He seemed okay enough. And he could be hurt. That explosion was our fault, so we should help him." I stand up, intent on leaving.

"Wait," Mira says. For a minute, I think she won't let me go and I feel disappointed (for some reason). "You need to take someone with you."

"Angel." I decide.

"Fine," she says. "You better go now."

"Right," I answer. And then I jump out the window, spreading my wings over the cave below. I see people look up, including Max. I let out a little _"Caw!"_ I see Max frown, and then Angel's beside me. We swoop out into the sun, into the open sky, away from safety, away from Max, to save a boy who might want to kill us anyway.

"_So this is what reckless freedom feels like. I've always wondered," _I think. Angel giggles beside me.

"_You could've just asked Max."_

"_Max isn't reckless. Not usually at least,"_ I reply, wondering what Angel could possibly be thinking. One little taste of independence and she's ready to forget everything we've been through. Sometimes I remember just how young she really is. She's just a little girl really, a little girl with too much power. Max was probably right about that too. I love Angel. We've always been close. I know she would never do anything to hurt us, even if she is feeling rebellious. But I make sure these thoughts come out good and scrambled. Just in case she's listening.

* * *

MPOV

"_Caw!"_

"What the—oof!" I gasp as Hawthorne's foot connects squarely with my stomach. "Hey!"

"Sorry," he grins. "I didn't realize you were _distracted_."

"I wasn't—" My train of thought is once again destroyed as Nudge and Angel swoop out of the cavern. "Wait." I hold up a hand to Hawthorne. "Something's going on."

The "caw!" was from Nudge. It's a "hey- I'm leaving-I'll be back" kind of thing.

"I have to talk to Mira," I shout to him, as I leap off the platform.

I saw Mira go into the tech center a couple minutes ago, so I'm sure none f them are surprised when I drop in through the window, trying to not knock anything over.

"What's going on?" It takes them all of two minutes to explain everything to me. Nudge and Angel went off on their own little mission. Without asking me. I'm left trying not to wonder when my Flock stopped needing me.

"It's not like that," Rider says. I meet his brown eyes.

"Yeah, it is." I walk out of the tech center, thinking as I go. My last little birdies have flown the nest. I feel strangely alone.

* * *

FPOV

I am almost entirely convinced that this is a dream.

These bars feel too familiar, and the snippets of reality I endure seem like they're on repeat.

It isn't so horrifying with that thought in mind. But how do I wake up?

* * *

_So the point here is to let you know a little more about what the flock has been doing at Home. I wanted to show how Nudge is growing up and how Angel's trying to grow up to. I also wanted to show that effect on Max. Max has these major insecurities in the books that I haven't really addressed up until now. There wasn't much point to this chapter except to bring Thorne back. I just wanted to post something because I'm moving soon and it might be even longer between updates._

_By the way, my timeline got all messed up but I think I worked it out._

_Please review._


	25. Welcome, Soldier

_Hey, guys! It's been too long. I'm finally settled in to my new house now, so updates should be coming quicker. This particular update was inspired by and is dedicated to __**of untold secrets **__who recently did me and this story a huge honor._

_I just want to thank everyone who has stuck with this series so far. I know I'm an unreliable updater. So if you read the author's note at the end, I have a little reward for you._

* * *

_Chapter 24_

_Welcome, Soldier_

* * *

_Previously:_

"…_where I was headed, apparently, was Home.__ "_

"_Nudge and Angel went off on their own little mission."_

* * *

Thorne POV

I have seen Home and she is beautiful. She is also the girl I was previously ordered to help kill. She descends in front of me like an angel, her dark hair crackling around her with electricity from my storm. I am too tired to make much reply and I wonder if I'm dreaming. Or dead.

She's talking and I hang onto every word. I let my world settle back into its new frame that this girl has provided. I am no longer a lonely wanderer, perhaps no longer a killer. Because she's saved me.

I take control of my feet and walk forward to kneel in front of the angel's companion, a little blond girl who I recognize. She has stopped talking and the little girl with her is watching me thoughtfully. From my back pocket I retrieve the singed angel-bear and hold it up to her, meeting her eyes. She smiles. I raise my gaze to the other girl's brown eyes.

"I'm glad I didn't kill you," I say as I rise to stand in front of her. She looks up at me and smiles and it about rocks my world.

"Me too," she says. The look the little girl gives her tells me it is the shortest sentence the other has ever uttered in her life. Something suspiciously like laughter sparks into existence in my chest and I look down at the little girl who has just grabbed my hand in surprise.

"We're going home," she says. I can do nothing less than nod and follow.

I know in this instant that my path has always been pointed toward her. And I was never meant to kill and destroy. That is what she is telling me as we go forward. It is not love or gratitude. It is hope that makes me think this way. This is a new emotion to me and at first I did not recognize it.

* * *

MPOV

Rain has painted the sparring platform a dull and grimy silver. My sneakers squeak and slip against the wet rock as I pace. I lift my face to the storm that has come in to preface the arrival of our latest newcomer. I can see the uncertainty in the faces of Mira and Gryffin as they stand side by side, watching the gray sky through Home's rocky back entrance. Rider on the other hand seems perfectly unconcerned. His entire attention is focused on the place where griffins hand rests on Mira's shoulder.

Lightning cracks overhead although the sky is not nearly dark enough to denote a storm. And I see three gray figures emerge in the distance. My breath leaves me in relief. They're safe. My babies survived their first flight out of the nest.

The rain grows heavier as they enter the cavern and we back up to give them room. The rain grows cold and hard, stinging my face and arms. I give Nudge a skeptical look through the pelting water because I know this storm to be Thorne's creation.

Nudge's fingers brush the back of Thorne's hand, and it happens so quickly that I'm not even sure I saw it. He glances at her and I think the tension in his body lessens. The rain lessens along with it.

Mira steps forward and now it's Gryffin's turn to tense like a body guard. I see his normally light-filled eyes narrow and become shadowed with threat. I see Thorne's silent acknowledgment of the threat and acceptance of the unspoken claim of possession.

I tune out as Mira begins the customary explanation and welcome speech. Instead, I size up the new recruit. He's obviously going to be a good addition to our makeshift army and my muscles already hurt at the thought of sparring with such a big guy.

The storm thing is a problem. How well can he control it? I doubt anyone here is going to want to offer themselves as a possible sacrifice to his training. I know in the end it'll be me and Hawthorne who take him on and see if we can reign in those powers for good.

That is assuming he wants to use them for good. I'm trusting Nudge's judgment on this one. I wish I had Fang's opinion to bolster my decision.

Fang. A fresh wave of pain joins the dull ache that is my constant companion. I haven't given up on him and I certainly never stop worrying. He still has yet to wake up. The healer has told me that the last distance to cross to consciousness is usually the hardest and that some people never make it back across that bit of healing.

But I refuse to dwell on these melancholy thoughts. Nudge and Angel have been forced to leave Thorne's side to change their wet clothes and everyone is standing around in awkward silence. I realize that Mira has just brought up the subject of learning the extent of Thorne's abilities and no one has offered to help. I step forward, the brave Maximum Ride, and the silence dispels.

When I meet Thorne's gaze I see a kindred spirit. It makes me feel a lot better about my decision to trust him and help him out.

"Look," I say to him when everyone is gone, "I'm not sure what you sacrificed to get here but I'm considering it the first sacrifice of this war. That means you've been recruited. Welcome to the army."

He grins and it is a grin that is at once coldly excited and self-mockingly warm.

"I've always been a soldier," he says. "It's just that this time I'm on the good side."

"Meet you here at dawn tomorrow to start training," I say. His expression is skeptical but he nods and then his attention is stolen by Nudge who has reappeared to take Thorne to his new living quarters.

I ponder thoughts of soldiers and sacrifice and war as I make my way to Fang's healing chamber. What else will have to be lost to gain the freedom for which we fight? I'm afraid to consider that too closely, for if this is my war, it has to be me who sacrifices the most. And though I would admit it to no one else save the person who lies unconscious in the healing chamber below, I am afraid.

* * *

_And now to the reward I mentioned earlier. I'm giving you a preview. And not just any little insignificant preview. This preview is important, one might even say crucial._

_Obviously I can't post it here because some of you don't want it. If you're interested, review or PM me and I'll send it to you. This is for anyone who bothered to read this story even if you haven't been there since the beginning or you're just reviewing to tell me about all the mistakes I've made._

_Just make sure you say something about the preview in your message because I don't want to be sending it to people who don't want it._

_It's a crucial bit of information and it's not a misleading scene. What I mean is it's not like a dream scene or a scene where someone's misinformed or whatever._

_So review and thanks again._


	26. Yo

I don't own Maximum Ride.

* * *

_Chapter 25_

_Yo_

* * *

FPOV

There is darkness. I have banished the dreams, but now I am entirely alone. Has my brain just given up? Or am I closer to…whatever it is I search for?

There is a voice I hear, though it isn't the one I crave. And the voice tells me about what I am missing here in this darkness.

The voice tells me that I am Home. The voice tells me about people who I have finally begun to remember. And now I know their names, the people I fight for. Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and the voice. The voice is Angel.

And then there's Max. The one I can't remember, the thing I can't reach. I do not know if I am dead. I do not know if forgetting Max is my Heaven or Hell (though I'm guessing the latter).

The voice tells me things, but it does not tell me that. I think it does not know I have forgotten.

And the darkness is thick and tangible. I swim upward, but I cannot break the surface.

* * *

MPOV

I sit in the flickering golden light of my room. I am alone, blissfully alone. Although "bliss" is a relative term.

I turn my fingers over and over in the weak light that casts shadows where no shadows should be. There are many little burn marks on my skin, more like singe marks really. That's what I get for sparring with a lightning-bender who can't control his storm.

He doesn't do it on purpose. And I have found a kindred soul.

We are never silent when we spar. We talk about inconsequentials.

He cannot be alone in the quiet with his past.

I cannot bear the familiar silence. It reminds me of Fang.

So we talk. Or sometimes Nudge talks for us, if she's around.

And so I've begun to know Thorne as well as one of my Flock. I like being around him. Actually, I think we all do. He fits. What we've been through, what he's been through…they're similar.

He could never replace Fang. It is not that spot that he fills. And really, he only makes it worse, that constant reminder that something is wrong, that something is different, missing. But he has no one else.

And sometimes when he's coming at me with an attack from the side with all this silent intensity, it reminds me so much of Fang that I freeze on the inside.

That is my pain and my burden. We all feel it. None of us thought it would take this long for him to get better.

So I spar with electrical fire. It distracts the pain in my heart.

And the days pass. They roll on.

And nothing changes, yet we are not the same as we once were. I wonder if Fang will even recognize me when he wakes up, _if_ he ever—Never mind.

* * *

FPOV

There is a new name among the voice's babble. And that name is Thorne.

I hate it.

The name is always used in conjunction with my family.

_Nudge and Thorne _

_Thorne and I_

_Iggy and Gazzy and Thorne_

If my place is being stolen, I want it back.

_Max and Thorne_

It is jealousy. Though I don't know where it comes from, it is a fire that burns my wings. And I am a phoenix, so I rise up.

_Max and Thorne_

I can't lose her to him. That is my first thought.

The darkness is splitting ahead. I might make it this time. I might make it back, and then I can take back what I've lost. Whatever that is-

_Max_

Max. Max. Max. There is light and I know I have been sleeping, if only I could open my eyes.

_Max says to tell you she loves you._

I remember. I remember Max. And then I'm Home.

* * *

MPOV

"_MAX!_" Angel's voice assaults my mind and has me jolting upright in bed from my half-sleep. My feet hit the floor and I'm running.

"_What?"_

"_It's Fang." _My heart stops, but my feet are still flying, bare soles hitting the rocky floors of Home as I go.

"_What?" _I think it quieter this time, afraid to hear the answer.

The answer is joyful, like a burst of sunlight in my brain. _"He's waking up."_

I'm leaping across halls and trough door frames, half flying, half walking. My thoughts are scrambled as I go.

I hear Iggy and Gazzy's and Nudge's footsteps coming up behind me. And maybe I'm flying and using super speed or maybe it's adrenalin, but I'm farther and farther ahead of them.

And the violet lit room is ahead.

And then I'm crashing through the archway. And Angel's there. And so is Fang.

He's shakily leaning against one of the rounded walls, trying to walk I think.

"I tried to stop him," Angel says. But I barely even hear because Fang's head shoots up as she speaks. And his eyes lock with mine. It's so real and right that my knees literally buckle.

He's leaning there all dark and Fang-like and awake and alive. The violet light makes his eyes look dark and glittery. It's like a dream except it feels too real. And his eyes are mine and neither of us can move for the power of it.

"Yo," he finally says with a weak half-smirk. And then my arms are around him. And his arms are around me.

"Max," he breathes into my hair. But I can't reply because I'm trying to pretend I'm not crying.

"Fang," I finally manage to choke out with my face buried in his chest. It comes out as a half-laugh and a half-sob. And Fang makes a noise in return that might have been a laugh.

Then Iggy and Gazzy are there, then Nudge and Angel, and we're a group hug. No, a Flock-hug. There's far too many tears being shed for my taste and my wings are being pressed into my back, but I don't care.

I can hear the five heartbeats of the people I love more than the entire world. Five heartbeats. Five living hearts beating.

I never thought I'd be this content again.

* * *

_Happy chapter. Yay! I'll do a good Fax reunion next. Review? If you're going to review any chapter, do it now._


	27. Alive

_So I put myself in a really bad position with that last chapter. How are Fang and Max supposed to get alone time when everyone will want to talk to him and stuff? _

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

* * *

_Chapter 26_

_Alive_

* * *

_Previously:_

"_It's Fang…He's waking up."_

* * *

MPOV

We fell asleep in that little healing cave with violet light washing over us. Iggy and Nudge lay huddle together in one of the rounded corners. Angel and Gazzy are sprawled across the stone slab where Fang slept for so long. And Fang and I are removed to another corner, watching over them.

Neither of us has spoken yet, afraid to wake them up, not knowing where to start. Our legs are tangled together on the floor. His arm is around me, my head resting on his shoulder. And I'm smiling, for the first time in forever.

"I missed you." My words barely have any sound because they've come from a place do deep down inside of me that I could barely help them along into the light of life.

"I missed you too," he says, voice rumbling in my ear. "Even when I didn't remember who you were." This has my attention.

"You forgot me," I accuse, sitting up to look into his face. However, there really isn't any bite to my words. It's not as if I can blame him for what happened. He frowns, and my fingers automatically reach out to touch the corner of his lips.

"I didn't mean to," he says. Each word is sincere and also thoughtful, like he's just puzzling it out himself. "It's like all the parts of me were stolen away, all the things that mattered. It's like I had to reinvent myself, search out all the little parts. Starting with the worse…and ending with the best." He meets my eyes when he says the last part. I can see the smirk playing along his lips.

"What was it like?" I say, though I'm almost afraid to know. He grimaces.

"It was like reliving all of it, everything, sometimes on repeat. And sometimes I knew it wasn't real, but then I'd forget. And I couldn't hold onto anything. And I didn't have you there this time to…take away some of the pain." I close my eyes to block out the sting of tears.

"I'm sorry." I remove my gaze from his. He tilts my chin back up to meet my eyes.

"Not your fault." I try to manage a half-smile.

"Feels like it," I sigh.

"Don't think about it." He pulls me back so that my head lies on his shoulder again. His chin rests on top of my head. "It's over now. I'm back. We're okay again." My stomach flutters with little butterflies of warmth when I remember that this is true. Fang's alive.

"Okay," I surrender because I don't feel like fighting about it. I have enough weight on my shoulders already.

"What was it like for you?" His voice is tight, the same way mine must have been. He doesn't like seeing me in pain. I sit up again, and he sits up with me, holding my hand.

"It was like last time," I say. "Last time we were…separated." I see pain enter his eyes as he remembers what happened to me then. I also see him blaming himself.

"Not your fault," I say, squeezing his hand.

"Feels like it," he says with a weary smirk.

"Let's just forget about it. It's over. And you're here." I can feel he elation entering me again. Everything feels okay now. I let my free hand travel up to his face. He pushes his check against my palm for just a second, closing his eyes in the pale light. Then I let my hand wander to play with the hair at the base of his neck.

"I'm glad you didn't die on me," I whisper with a little smile. He grins in that rare way that makes my stomach do flips.

"Me too." And then he's kissing me, and I'm kissing him back. His hand is cupping my face gently and my fingers are buried in his hair. My other hand is still clutched tightly in his.

We break apart, breathing a little heavily. I can't take my eyes off of his. His expression is joy and excitement, reveling in being alive and free. I think mine must be the same. He kisses me again, gently this time. And then we're lying back against e wall, my head tucked under his chin.

"You know I love you, right?" I say a while later, not sure if he's fallen asleep yet.

"Love you too, Max," he mumbles sleepily. I smile because I can't seem to stop myself. I cry silent tears of happiness because no one's awake to see. I think to myself, _It's like I got him back from the dead. _And then I listen to his very living heart beat and let it lull me to sleep.

* * *

FPOV

It's funny, I've had so many near-death experiences but they've never left me feeling so alive. It's like all my nerves are on fire, in a good way.

And Max is here, in my arms. The Flock sleeps quietly around us. I know that all is not right with the world, but all is right with _my_ world.

I'm in love with Maximum Ride. That is the most important thought in my head at the moment. I'm in love with this beautiful, strong bird-girl who is currently looking so fragile and innocent in my arms with her head on my chest.

I rub my hand along her back, between her wings to wake her up, wanting just another minute alone with her. I feel like we've been apart for twenty years. She stirs gently against me and then opens her eyes. She tenses, assessing her surroundings, and then she cautiously looks up. My heart skips a beat at the way her face lights up when she sees me. No, it wasn't a dream.

"You're still here," she murmurs. I smile. Smiles seem to be a lot more ready for me nowadays. Maybe it's part of that whole grateful-to-be-alive thing.

"Yeah," I answer lamely. It seems like there's nothing to say, maybe because there's so much to say. I know there are questions to be answered, but I don't want to think about that right now. My attention right now is focused solely on the way Max is biting her lip, the way her hair is falling around her face, the way her eyes are watching me.

I kiss her because I can' help it. I wonder if it's my newfound appreciation for my nerve-endings that's making kissing Max seem more important than breathing. But I think it's just Max.

I pull away and Max gives a shaky laugh. I kiss her forehead and hug her for a second. Why do I feel like time is so very precious? We're alive. We're safe. I'm not going to lose her anytime soon. But something warns me that I'm wrong.

* * *

_It's short, but sweet. I tried to be in character. Tell me how I did._

_Review, puh-lease._


	28. The First Mission

_I think we all know how this works. I disappear for a while, but then the new book inspires me to write again. I hope some of you are still with me. I'm sorry for my inconsistency._

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

* * *

_Chapter 27_

_The First Mission_

* * *

_Previously:_

"_It's like I got him back from the dead."_

"_I'm not going to lose her anytime soon. But something warns me that I'm wrong."_

* * *

MPOV

It's funny how your world can move earth-shatteringly and yet everyone else doesn't even feel a jolt. Home goes on as it always has, the planning and constant motion. And I am Maximum Ride again. The Flock is whole. It's like someone who has lost a finger, they try to adjust to its loss but all they can feel is the gaping pain, and then suddenly it's sewn back on. Their hand is whole again, a little tingly, but whole.

I suddenly am myself again. I remember my purpose, who I am. I'm ashamed to admit that I've been wallowing in self-pity. That's not any way for a leader to behave. But Now I've been running around Home like the rest of this army of mutants, except with perhaps a rather more bemused look on my face. My world has burst into color, but unfortunately a lot of that color has a haze of red; red for anger, red for blood, red for vengeance, red for war.

I find myself out of place, and yet oh so aware that this is my place. This is my war and, with my right-hand man back, I'm no longer afraid. Okay, maybe a little.

"Max, debriefing," Fang says to me without stopping as he walks by my room. I blear sleepily out into the pale light. It's night time, who is brave enough to disturb my slumber?

I see a dark shadow back up a few paces to peer in at me.

"Are you awake?" I nod and run a hand through my disheveled hair. I can just make out the shadow of a smirk as he vanishes from my sight.

Fang's fit right into this soldier-life. He lives for the planning, the sparring. It's like he was born for this. All I see are sacrifices, people preparing to give everything they have to do my job for me, to save the world when that's supposed to be my job.

But I have to let it go, I don't know what's really supposed to happen any more than they do. Maybe this is what they meant when they told me to save the world. Maybe all they needed was my contribution to this war. And then again, maybe not.

I slip out of bed and race along the stone floors of Home, throwing myself from the canyon ledge and open my wings in a _snap_ of movement. Chill air rises to meet my wings as I glide over to Mira's doorway where Fang has just landed.

He looks at me and I smile. When he looks away, I can't stop myself from running my hands through my hair to tame it. We enter Mira's quarters together.

"What's up?" I call, seeing Mira, Rider, and Iggy framed by the moonlight that filters through the crevice in the stone walls. I walk over to lean against the wall with Iggy. He bumps my fist by way of greeting. Fang stands against the wall next to me, and almost immediately becomes one with the shadows. Rider nods in our general direction, but returns his preoccupied gaze to Mira.

"Hey," Mira says to no one in particular, turning from her perusal of the visible night sky to look at us. "We have a mission."

Blunt and to the point. I knew there was a reason I liked this girl.

"What is it?" Iggy's tone is wary. Mira's eyes flit to the shadowy doorway.

"We're waiting for Hawthorne and Gryffin," she answers. As she speaks, they materialize from the shadows, two opposing ends of the light spectrum. Sunshine and darkness. Hawthorne's usually expressionless face is tense with unreadable expression. They don't bother with pretenses.

"Where is she?" Hawthorne barks out as if he can no longer contain the flood of thoughts racing through his mind.

"We're going to go get her," Mira explains, her voice unnaturally calm.

"Maybe someone could explain what's going on?" I pipe up, always willing to throw myself headlong into tense situations. Hawthorne and Gryffin blink as if they hadn't noticed the rest of us were here.

"I was getting there," Mira sounds exhausted.

"I've got it, Mira," Rider interrupts. She gives him a grateful smile and returns to looking out at the sky. Gryffin crosses to her side, and they converse in hushed tones, but my attention is drawn to Rider as he begins speaking.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Shadow—" Hawthorne makes a dangerous noise. Rider's smile droops and he clears his throat. "Right. Um," He ruffles the hair at the back of his neck in agitation. Hawthorne rolls his eyes and slips out of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Fang speaks up. Rider sighs.

"Back before we met Hawthorne and Gryffin, they knew this girl named Shadow. Hawthorne was sort of in love with her." Comprehension dawns on me and I eye the door through which Hawthorne disappeared curiously. He never gave any sign that he was pining for his long lost love. "Anyway, she was captured. They spent ages looking for her, but never found her. Gryffin was convinced she was dead. There were no new leads to go by, and, in the end, the war came first. They convinced Hawthorne he could look for her after the world was saved. He didn't like it, but…" he trails off.

I can't imagine giving up the search for someone I loved. I would search forever to get my Flock back; the world could just save itself. My eyes meet with Fang's and I can't read the expression in his eyes, though it burns with emotional fire.

Mira turns around to look at us, and Gryffin speaks.

"But now we've found her. We can't just leave her, not after we stopped looking…" I can hear the guilt in his words.

"I'm in," I say, not wanting or needing them to say any more about this painful topic.

"Me too," Iggy adds, and I see Fang nod out of the corner of my eye.

"Where is she?" I ask, and they start to give us the details. I feel plans forming in my head. This is my element. We've done this sort of thing a million times.

I have no idea how much of the night passes as we make our plans. Fang and Iggy argue for a full on attack, and I can tell Gryffin agrees with them. However, Rider and I argue that we can't spare the fire power, the casualties and injuries. The risk factor is too great. In the end, Mira breaks the tie, since Hawthorne hasn't reappeared.

She votes for a mixture. We aren't going in bombs blazing, but we aren't trying to hide anything either. We have to be smart about this, but we aren't leaving without Shadow. No matter what.

We iron out the plans. I can see Fang and Iggy still don't completely agree, but they're outvoted.

"We'll leave tomorrow," Mira adds.

"Are you sure you should go, Mira? Home can't really spare—"

"Home can't spare any of us. But neither can Shadow. We're all going. Tomorrow morning."

"Tonight," a voice speaks from behind where I sit in the little circle we've formed. It's Hawthorne. "We should go tonight. We've already wasted so much time." Gryffin nods his approval. I can see Mira bite her lip in indecision. She looks at me; I am, after all, still Maximum Ride.

I sigh, torn. We're all tired and overemotional, but if it was one of my Flock, I probably would have already left.

"Alright," I say, standing up, "Let's go." Hawthorne shoots me a grateful look, and I can practically feel Fang staring a hole in my neck, but I refuse to turnaround to meet his gaze. I'm still the leader here.

And in an hour or so, we're flying, flying free in the open air. I let out a _woop_ of excitement as I bank left, swirling around to ride the currents. I hear Iggy's laughter behind me. The others are even smiling a little. We stretch our wings happily, dancing through the air under the night sky. Hawthorne even has to relax a little.

Fang's still trying to get my attention, but I don't feel like picking that fight just yet. Instead I soar over next to Rider who's got a fake smile plastered on his face.

"What's up?" I ask conversationally. He frowns as he answers, screwing up his face in concentration as if straining to glimpse even a moment of the future. And his answer chills straight through me like a prophecy, like doom.

"I can't see what happens next…but I have this really bad feeling...that we aren't all going to be coming back."


End file.
